Adani row: Opposition wants a probe while govt gets into defensive mode

Internally, opposition feels it might be better to focus on an SC-monitored probe, as given its majority in both houses, advantage in a JPC might rest with BJP

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Friday moments after proceedings started, as Opposition leaders continued to raise demands for a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a Chief Justice of India (CJI)-designated committee into the allegations against the Adani Group in the Hindenburg Research report. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 a.m. on February 6.
 
Internally, the opposition believes it might be better to focus on a Supreme Court-monitored probe, as given its majority in both houses of Parliament, the balance of advantage in a JPC might rest with the BJP. A JPC consists of members in proportion to their parties’ strength in the two houses. The BJP far surpasses the opposition in the Lok Sabha and has a slight majority in the Rajya Sabha.

 
“We have learnt from our mistakes,” said a Congress spokesman, referring to the raucous row of ‘chowkidar chor hai’ ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi linked the outcome of a Supreme Court order on Rafale to his allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had to apologise. “We are neither linking any individual to the Adani episode, nor the group itself. We want to know how regulatory agencies which the government oversees, neglected to perform their tasks and have jeopardised the savings of ordinary Indians”.
 

The Congress will take the issue to the streets once its plans are firmed up over the weekend. This includes holding demonstrations outside the offices of Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India, along with highlighting the government’s ‘silence’ on the matter on February 6.

 
Barring Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi’s terse comment after Parliament was adjourned that “the government has nothing to do with Adani matters," no senior minister rebutted the opposition. Only BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani questioned the Opposition's demand: "What does the government have to do with this? Nobody has said what the government's role is in this. LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) is an independent organisation. They have decided to make some investments," Jethmalani said adding that if there is any wrongdoing by the Adani Group, then Sebi and RBI will probe it. "The demand for a JPC probe is not justified," Jethmalani said.

 
Investment banker and Trinamool Congress MP Mohua Moitra said on Twitter that there is a conflict of interest between individuals in market regulator Sebi and the Adani matter would not be addressed by Sebi in a fair manner. “(I have) Greatest respect for ace lawyer Cyril Shroff, but his daughter is married to Gautam Adani’s son. Shroff serves on Sebi’s Committee on Corporate Governance & Insider Trading. If at all @SEBI_India is examining Adani issue, Shroff should recuse himself. Perceptions are reality,” she wrote.
 
She also asked why the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was not reviewing Adani’s membership of the stock exchange as other exchanges had done. “S&P Dow Jones removes Adani Enterprises from Dow Jones indices due to charges of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Why is @NSEIndia not re-evaluating index membership of Adani stocks when international ones are?" the TMC MP asked.

 
The mouthpiece of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM), People’s Democracy asked for a Supreme Court-monitored probe, not just this incident which could put public money into jeopardy, but the rise of the Adani groups across the board: “Adani’s wealth which was Rs 50,400 crore in 2014 increased to Rs 10.30 trillion by 2022.  Modi’s favourite capitalist had a free run. No regulatory agency or governmental authority could touch him.  The impunity with which the Adani group pursued its business interests is one of the worst examples of crony capitalism in contemporary times”, the party said in an editorial, seeking a Supreme Court probe into the Hindenburg allegations and a full investigation into the growth of the group.