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Putting animus and rivalry aside, constituents of the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA), with the addition of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), came together to demand a probe by the Chief Justice of India or a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the allegations made by short seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group and a debate in Parliament.
The Opposition parties tried to raise the issue in both Houses of Parliament but were disallowed by the chair.
Responding to the Opposition, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India’s economy would be able to withstand the stock rout. But both in Parliament and outside, it was clear that the Opposition was adamant in pushing the government to disclose the role of regulatory agencies in the Adani affair.
Speaking at Delhi’s Vijay Chowk, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said: “We wanted a discussion. Our notices get rejected. When we raise important issues, no time is given. Money of poor people is there in LIC, SBI and other national banks and it is being given to select companies. Either a JPC or a team under the supervision of the CJI should investigate this.”
Kharge added that they had also given notice to suspend business under rule 267 to discuss the investment by LIC, public sector banks and financial institutions in companies that were losing market value, “endangering the hard-earned money of crores of Indians”.
The Opposition’s joint attack is likely to stall Parliament and prevent discussion. This followed a meeting of “like-minded” Opposition parties in the Parliament complex and discussions around a coordinated strategy to get answers from the government. Parties like the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have shied away in the past from joining a move led by the Congress. But this time, they attended and actively participated.
In this case, the Congress took the lead as leaders of the parties met in Kharge’s chamber. Apart from the TMC and SP, leaders from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Janata Dal (United), Shiv Sena, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Indian Union Muslims League (IUML), National Conference (NC), AAP, and the Kerala Congress participated. Although the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) was not present, its leaders said the party was with the Congress.
The leaders issued statements in which they dubbed the stock crash a “maha ghotala (scam) in Amrit Kaal” and questioned the government’s “silence” over the issue.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh described Gautam Adani as the “closest friend” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Why is the Modi government silent on such a huge scam? The government is silent because the man who is indulged in this scam is the closest friend of PM Modi. Adani opens fake companies in foreign countries, buys shares worth crores of rupees of his own company and takes loans worth lakhs and crores from banks. This is the maha ghotala in Amrit Kaal,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that people who had invested in LIC and kept money in the banks were “scared” of losing it all.
Later, holding a second press conference, Kharge said the Opposition would keep up the pressure and will meet at 10 am on Friday.
The Opposition has questioned why regulators like the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India did not act to prevent the issues that Hindenburg raised.
“Common people have their money in the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. Millions of people have LIC policies. Who gave the right to a private corporate house to play with this money? How much public money is invested in the Adani group companies? Who is safeguarding this money? We are not attacking an individual or targeting a person. We want to know how this could have happened in a country like India” Kharge said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meanwhile was busy holding orientation and briefing meetings for its MPs on the Budget.
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