Hindenburg Research closes: 'Doesn't mean clean chit for Modani,' says Congress; BJP hits back

Hindenburg Research made international waves with allegations against billionaire Gautam Adani that wiped billions from the market value of his group companies.

New Delhi: Congress and BJP on Thursday locked horns over the closing down of Hindenburg Research, which had published reports against Adani Group, with the main opposition party saying that does not mean a clean chit for "Modani" and its rival hitting back, asking whether Rahul Gandhi has now got the  "contract" for the US short-seller's closed shop.

In a statement, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "the closure of Hindenburg Research does not, in any way, mean a clean chit for Modani" and the matter goes "far deeper" than the disclosures made by Hindenburg.

"It involves the abuse of Indian foreign policy to enrich the Prime Minister's close friends at the expense of the national interest. It involves the misuse of investigative agencies to force Indian businesspersons to divest critical infrastructure assets and help Adani build monopolies in airports, ports, defence and cement," Ramesh alleged.

"Modani may have -- and it has -- captured India's institutions, but criminality exposed outside the country cannot be covered up in this way. The US Department of Justice has accused Adani of bribing Indian officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts," he said.

Many countries have cancelled their Adani projects, Ramesh said adding, "these are all serious acts of blatant favouritism and brazen criminality that can only be fully investigated by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). Without a JPC, the already-compromised institutions of the Indian state will continue to act only to protect the powerful and the Prime Minister's friends, while India's poor and middle classes are left to fend for themselves in a deteriorating economic environment."

Senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad Hindenburg Research "shut its shop" on a day the Congress inaugurated its new headquarters building. "Has Rahul Gandhi now got the contract of this shop...Rahul Gandhi is in complete grip of urban naxals' thinking process."

Prasad said it seems the "shop" of billionaire investor George Soros is also going to close down under President-elect Donald Trump.

Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera said he could not understand why the BJP leaders are jumping with joy over Hindenburg Research's announcement to wind up its operations.