Budget Session: Rahul Gandhi questions surge in Adani's fortunes under Modi govt; Rijiju warns against 'wild allegations'

Speaker Om Birla asked him to focus on the President's address and disapproved of him displaying a picture of Modi with Adani

As the logjam in the Parliament thawed on Tuesday with Opposition parties opting to be a part of the debates, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the Opposition’s charge against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha, launching a scathing attack on the government’s alleged cosiness with businessman Gautam Adani. Gandhi questioned why was Adani given preferential treatment in the last eight years such that between 2014 and 2019, there has been a meteoric surge in Gautam Adani's net worth, rising from $8 billion to $140 billion.

Gandhi also said that during the same time, Adani rose from the 609th position of richest people to the second, and questioned Modi's relationship with Adani. “From Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Himachal Pradesh we have been listening to one name everywhere ‘Adani’. All across the country, we heard ‘Adani, Adani, Adani’...people said that if Adani touches any business, he succeeds,” the Congress leader said.

Gandhi's comments came after two days of disruptions over the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the report by short-seller Hindenburg on Adani that has seen his businesses take a $100-billion dollar hit. Gandhi said that the investment by LIC and public sector banks has put in jeopardy “the savings of crores of Indians”.

Read | Can India’s Opposition corner government on Adani issue?

Gandhi’s comments led to an uproar from the treasury benches, with union law minister Kiren Rijiju and Ravi Shankar Prasad demanding that the allegation against Modi should not be allowed because a prior notice was not submitted in the House.

Gandhi alleged that the government changed rules of mandatory prior experience to develop airports, awarding Adani contracts across the country. “Today, 24 per cent of India’s air traffic, and 31 per cent of air freight is controlled by Adani. In this year’s Budget, the government has gifted him 50 new airports,” Gandhi said. “From airports to data to wind energy to consumer products to media, Adani has a business.”

Minutes into his 50-minute speech, Gandhi flashed two photographs – one of PM Modi and Adani in a private jet, and another of Modi entering an Adani plane, before Speaker Om Birla stepped in. Gandhi alleged that the State Bank of India has given a loan of $1 billion to Adani. He also said that after Modi’s visit to Bangladesh, a contract by a major power corporation of the country gave a 25-year contract to Adani to develop 1500 megawatts.

Read | Modi making all efforts to stall discussion on Adani, you know why: Rahul

“In 2022, the chairman of Sri Lanka’s electricity board informed the country’s parliamentary committee that he was told by then President Rajapaksa that he was pressured by PM Modi to give the wind power project to Gautam Adani. This isn't India's foreign policy. It's the policy for Adani's business,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi said that Modi’s relationship with Adani dated back to when the former was Gujarat's chief minister. “One man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to the PM and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of a resurgent Gujarat. Real magic began when PM Modi reached Delhi in 2014,” Gandhi alleged.

As his speech ended, he sought answers from Modi on four key questions: How many times did PM Modi and Adani travel together on a foreign trip, how many times did Adani join Modi later on any foreign trip, and how many times did he reach after Modi landed in a foreign country. “How many times did Adaniji bag a contract in a foreign country after your visit there,” Gandhi asked PM Modi. He also asked how much money did Adani give to the BJP through electoral bonds in the last two decades.

Apart from Gandhi, Opposition members including DMK’s Kanimozhi and Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, too, attacked the government’s silence over the matter. “When we are talking about Adani, it becomes a word against the country. I am confused. Is talking against Adani talking against India, I want a clarification,” Kanimozi said.

Moitra asked why has the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had been a “silent operator” and why was the recent FPO approved without completing an investigation report.