Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents have seized on the recent troubles faced by the Adani Group, a conglomerate owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, to attack the ruling government. The Adani Group, which has extensive business interests in India and around the world, has come under scrutiny in recent months due to various controversies, including its alleged links to the government and concerns over its business practices.
Modi’s political opponents, including the Indian National Congress party, have used these controversies to criticize the prime minister and his government, alleging that they have favored the Adani Group at the expense of other businesses and the Indian people. The Congress party has organized nationwide demonstrations to protest the government’s perceived bias towards the Adani Group and to demand a fair and transparent investigation into the company’s business practices.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday linked the massive rise in the business fortunes and personal wealth of businessman Gautam Adani to the Modi government coming to power in 2014, as he launched a sharp attack on the BJP dispensation over the Adani issue.
His charges in the Lok Sabha drew a sharp response from the treasury benches, with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju asking him to not level “wild allegations” and furnish proof of his claims.
“Modi ji will do his best to avert a discussion on Adani ji in Parliament. There is a reason for it and you know that. I want there should be a discussion on the Adani issue and the truth should come out. The lakhs and crores of corruption that has taken place should come out. The country should know what is the power behind Adani,” Gandhi told reporters here.
These protests have led to parliamentary proceedings being paralyzed, with opposition lawmakers disrupting proceedings and calling for an investigation into the Adani Group’s affairs. The opposition has accused the government of providing special treatment to the Adani Group, including fast-tracking permits and contracts, and ignoring concerns over the company’s environmental and labor practices.
While the Modi government has rejected these allegations, the controversy has highlighted growing public discontent over perceived crony capitalism and the influence of powerful business interests in Indian politics. Many Indians feel that the government is more concerned with serving the interests of big business than the needs of the country’s citizens.
The Adani Group’s troubles have also sparked debates over the role of India’s billionaire class and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals. Some experts have argued that the Adani Group’s controversies are just the tip of the iceberg and that India needs to address the systemic problems that allow billionaires to exert undue influence over the country’s politics and economy.
The Adani Group’s woes have become a major flashpoint in Indian politics and a rallying cry for those who are frustrated with the perceived influence of big business in the country. The controversy has put the Modi government on the defensive and sparked a national conversation about the role of billionaires in Indian society and the need for greater accountability and transparency in business practices.
India’s business world and market circles have been consumed by the crisis engulfing the nation’s celebrated Adani Group in recent days, but in one place the issue has gone undebated: parliament. India’s small but vocal opposition has demanded an opportunity to quiz the government about the woes at the group chaired by Gautam Adani, a longtime ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
