Leader of opposition in the lok sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday called for the arrest of Adani Group head Gautam Adani, as he is charged with fraud in a $250 million bribery scheme by the United States court under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law against bribery in foreign business dealings.
"Chief ministers of this country are going jail over Rs 10-15 crore but Mr. Adani is roaming around as a free man after Rs. 2,000 crore scam," Gandhi said during a press conference in New Delhi.
This came days before the winter session of parliament, which is scheduled to began on November 24, 2024. On asked whether opposition will raise this matter in the parliament, Gandhi said that as LoP its his responsibility to discuss this.
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He further accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shielding the industrialist from being arrested and reiterated that the recent development vindicate his allegations against Adani. He also demanded a probe against Madhabi Puri Buch, who is the chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), calling her as Adani's protector.
"There is a chain of people sitting in different capacities and positions. We have exposed and Madhabi Buch. Eventually we will present each one of them to you who have hijacked the country," the Congress leader said.
Gandhi also guaranteed that due to Adani's connection with PM Modi, he will neither face any legal action nor be arrested in India, as the government is also not taking the accusations seriously. He also renewed the opposition's call for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter.
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How BJP Responded?
After Congress' launch of allegations against the ruling party and prime minister, Bharatiya Janata Party's IT department head Amit Malviya questioned the timing of the indictment which coincide with the upcoming parliament winter session and Donal Trump's presidency.
"The Congress is willing to be a prop in the hands of George Soros and his cabal speaks volumes," said Malviya on X responding to a post by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
He further cited the US federal prosecutors' indictment and claimed that the states where government officials were paid bribes were rules by the opposition between July 2021 and February 2022. The report has named Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
"So, before you pontificate, answer on the bribes the Congress and its allies accepted," said Malviya.
Malviya further noted that on legitimate grounds Indian Court can also accuse American firms of bribing US government officials to deny access to Indian markets.
"Should we then allow law to take its course and the concerned corporate to defend or plant ourselves in domestic politics of a foreign country?" Malviya questioned Ramesh.
However, during his press conference, Gandhi said that every Indian state named in the report should be investigated but it should start with the arrest of Adani.
The Indictment
On Wednesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informed that the US government had charged Gautam Adani and seven others have been over a conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions.
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The indictment alleged that the Adani Group orchestrated a scheme to pay over $250 million to various Indian government officials to lie to investors and banks in order to raise billions of dollars and obstruct justice.
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