File picture of BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya
| Photo Credit: PTI

The BJP on Thursday (November 21, 2024) targeted the Congress over its attack on the Central government after U.S. prosecutors charged industrialist Gautam Advani with bribery and fraud, saying all the States mentioned in the indictment were at that time ruled by non-BJP parties.

BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya also questioned the timing of the development, as it came just before the start of Parliament session and Donald Trump’s impending presidency.

FOLLOW: Gautam Adani U.S. indictment LIVE updates

This raises several questions, he said. “That the Congress is willing to be a prop in the hands of George Soros and his cabal speaks volumes,” Mr. Malviya said on X in reply to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s claim that the indictment vindicates the Congress’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various “Modani scams”.

Citing from the U.S. federal prosecutors’s indictment, Mr. Malviya said the States where government officials were paid bribes allegedly by the Adani Group were Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh between July 2021 and February 2022.

He told Mr. Ramesh, “All the states mentioned here were Opposition-ruled during that time. So, before you pontificate, answer on the bribes the Congress and its allies accepted,” he said.

While Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were then ruled by the BJD and the YSR Congress, two regional parties unaffiliated to either the ruling or the opposition alliance at that time, the Congress ally DMK was and remains in power in Tamil Nadu.The Congress was in power in Chhattisgarh.

“Don’t get excited”

Taking a swipe at Mr. Ramesh, he said it is always good to read before one reacts and added that the U.S. document cited by the senior Congress leader said the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

An Indian court, the BJP leader said, can similarly on legitimate grounds accuse American firms of bribing U.S. government officials to deny access to Indian markets.

“Should we then allow law to take its course and the concerned corporate to defend or plant ourselves in domestic politics of a foreign country,” he said, asking the Congress to not get needlessly excited.

Congress allegations

The Congress, especially the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, has constantly alleged proximity between the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani, claiming that the port-to-energy conglomerate has received undue favours from the BJP dispensation.

Mr. Adani has dismissed such suggestions. The BJP, too, has denied the allegations and noted that the Adani Group has invested heavily in many Opposition-ruled states as well.

Federal U.S. prosecutors have charged Mr. Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and some other group officials for paying over $250 millions in bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

U.S. prosecutors charged Mr. Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over $250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than $2 billion in profit.

The Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Congress on September 14 alleged that the “Adani scam” has exposed the role tax havens play in hiding large-scale violation of Indian laws and said the issue should have been discussed at the recent G20 Summit.

It also said that if a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe is ordered into the allegations against the Adani Group, it will have to make sure that any loopholes for round-tripping and money-laundering are effectively shut.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the rise in Indian outward direct investment in the past 25 years has been a sign of deepening globalisation.

“However, it is disturbing that offshore tax havens such as Bermuda, Jersey and Cyprus rank among the top 10 destinations for Indian investment, according to the RBI,” he said.

“This is in addition to Mauritius that has long been suspected as a preferred destination for Indian money-laundering and round-tripping,” the Congress leader noted.

“The Adani MegaScam has exposed the critical role such tax havens play in hiding the large-scale violation of Indian laws and regulations. These violations are hollowing out our economy and affecting the credibility of our stock markets,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“The G20 was the right forum to take up this issue and ensure concrete action against tax havens. But the Prime Minister was busy projecting his own image rather than protecting India’s interests,” he claimed.

“A JPC into the Adani MegaScam will have to make sure that any remaining loopholes for round-tripping and money-laundering are effectively shut,” the Congress leader said.

The Congress and other Opposition parties have been demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue and will take up the issue during the upcoming special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22.

U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research, in a report released on January 24, alleged accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and use of tax havens by the Adani Group, triggering a stock market rout. The Adani Group has denied all allegations by Hindenburg.