Adani Row: Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi will do his best to 'avoid' discussion

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would do everything possible to "avoid" a discussion on the ongoing Adani issue. He stressed that at this point there should be a detailed debate in parliament about the Adani-Hindenburg group, which was accused of fraud and stock manipulation by US short-seller Hindenburg Research in a report published last month.

"I have been raising this issue for two years so that people will know the truth. There has been corruption to the tune of lakhs and crores and the infrastructure of the country has been hijacked by one man,” Gandhi added. "We need to know who are the powers behind Adani Group. The Center is scared and doesn't want to discuss it. Modi ji will make every effort to ensure there is no discussion about Adani ji," he further said.

Congress president Digvijaya Singh had earlier said that Rahul Gandhi had predicted that Adani's "wealth bubble would burst" and Hindenburg had "exposed Adani". "During the pandemic, everyone in the country saw a reduction in income, but some industrialists saw their market capitalization increase. Industry and market were closed, then how did they increase their market capitalization. BJP is getting unaccounted money," Singha was quoted as saying. He pointed out that the alleged loss of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) due to investment in Adani Group is a big concern. He said: “The people in the country who bought the Adani stake have suffered a loss. The share market is affected as investors who had invested in Adani shares pulled out. SBI had a low percentage in Adani shares, but LIC, which has the common man's money, had a huge loss.”

On Monday, both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the third day after the Center refused to discuss the allegations. The opposition has said it will stage nationwide protests until and unless the government agrees to discuss the alleged fraud. On Monday, the Congress staged nationwide protests outside Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches. Congress MPs will also protest at the Gandhi statue in the Parliament building on Monday.