Congress accuses Centre of ‘foisting’ Adani Group on Sri Lanka

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress accused the Centre on Sunday of “lobbying” in favour of the Adani Group for tasks in Sri Lanka and “foisting” the enterprise conglomerate on the essential neighbour of India.

The opposition celebration has been persistent with its assault on the federal government, weeks after Adani Group shares took a beating on the bourses within the wake of US-based brief vendor Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, together with fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.

The Adani Group has dismissed the costs as lies, saying it complies with all legal guidelines and disclosure necessities.

ALSO READ | Vinod Adani working shell firms in ‘collusion with Chinese nationals’: Congress

Posing a set of three inquiries to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a part of the celebration’s “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun” sequence, Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh mentioned that they had beforehand requested Modi on his “apparent haste” to “enrich the Adani Group at the expense of Bangladesh and now, want answers on how he has been “foisting” the enterprise group on one other essential neighbour, Sri Lanka.

“Parliament resumes on March 13. We are preparing for our interventions to be expunged. But what cannot be erased out is ‘Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun’-26 bringing the total of direct questions of the PM so far to 78,” Ramesh tweeted.

13 मार्च को संसद फिर शुरू होगी।हम जनहित के सवाल पूछना जारी रखेंगे।हो सकता है उन्हें भी रिकॉर्ड से हटा दिया जाए,लेकिन जिन्हें हटाया या मिटाया नहीं जा सकता,वो हैं “HAHK-हम अडानी के हैं कौन” श्रृंखला के तहत PM से पूछे गए सवाल,जिनकी संख्या 78 हो गई है।

चुप्पी तोड़िए प्रधानमंत्री जी। pic.twitter.com/OpUdWiXciM

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 10, 2023

He mentioned the governments of India, Japan and Sri Lanka (then headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe) signed a memorandum on May 28, 2019 to develop the East Container Terminal within the Colombo South port.

A 12 months later, on June 9, 2020, the Sri Lankan cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa introduced that India had “selected” Adani Ports as its international terminal operator, Ramesh mentioned.

He added that following the surprising cancellation of the deal, the Rajapaksa authorities as a substitute supplied Colombo’s West Container Terminal to India and Japan beneath a 35-year construct, function and switch lease, which was finalised on September 30, 2021.

“A Sri Lankan cabinet spokesperson said that India had ‘nominated’ Adani Ports as the partner. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry described it as a ‘government-to-government’ port project in a 5 March 2023 interview. On what basis did you ‘select’ and ‘nominate’ Adani Ports for this government-to-government deal?” Ramesh requested in his assertion addressed to Modi.

“Did any other Indian firms have the opportunity to consider investing or did you simply reserve the deal for your close friends?” he requested.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee authorities’s 2002 resolution to not put money into the strategic Hambantota port cleared the trail for Chinese companies to enter Sri Lanka’s ports sector, he alleged.

ALSO READ | Govt desires to ‘hand over’ India’s meals grain logistics to Adani Group, alleges Congress

Ramesh mentioned India’s funding in Colombo is partly pushed by the necessity to counter China’s enlargement within the speedy neighbourhood. “However, as we pointed out on March 3, 2023, the Adani Group has disturbing connections with Chinese nationals such as the Adani family confidant Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo-Chang) who has been involved, among other things, in violating UN sanctions against China and Pakistan’s ally North Korea,” he mentioned.

Are these connections undeserving of investigation by “ordinarily hyperactive investigative agencies”, the previous Union minister requested.

He accused the prime minister of indulging in “hectic lobbying for his cronies”, together with for a 500-megawatt wind energy venture in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. “The former head of the Ceylon Electricity Board, MMC Ferdinando, testified on June 10, 2022 before the Parliament of Sri Lanka that on October 24, 2021, ‘the President (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) summoned me after a meeting and said that India’s Prime Minister Modi is pressuring him to hand over the project to the Adani Group’,” the Congress chief alleged.

Although he retracted the feedback beneath strain, Ferdinando’s remarks had fully uncovered the nexus of crony capitalism, he mentioned.

“Are you under the impression that your main job is to secure contracts for your friend Gautam Adani, in India and outside, rather than work for the people of India?” Ramesh requested the prime minister and urged him to interrupt his “silence” on the problem.

OPINION | Hindenburg impact on the way forward for Adani shares: Part I

OPINION | Hindenburg impact on way forward for Adani Businesses: Part II

NEW DELHI: The Congress accused the Centre on Sunday of “lobbying” in favour of the Adani Group for tasks in Sri Lanka and “foisting” the enterprise conglomerate on the essential neighbour of India.

The opposition celebration has been persistent with its assault on the federal government, weeks after Adani Group shares took a beating on the bourses within the wake of US-based brief vendor Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, together with fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.

The Adani Group has dismissed the costs as lies, saying it complies with all legal guidelines and disclosure necessities.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

ALSO READ | Vinod Adani working shell firms in ‘collusion with Chinese nationals’: Congress

Posing a set of three inquiries to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a part of the celebration’s “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun” sequence, Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh mentioned that they had beforehand requested Modi on his “apparent haste” to “enrich the Adani Group at the expense of Bangladesh and now, want answers on how he has been “foisting” the enterprise group on one other essential neighbour, Sri Lanka.

“Parliament resumes on March 13. We are preparing for our interventions to be expunged. But what cannot be erased out is ‘Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun’-26 bringing the total of direct questions of the PM so far to 78,” Ramesh tweeted.

13 मार्च को संसद फिर शुरू होगी।हम जनहित के सवाल पूछना जारी रखेंगे।हो सकता है उन्हें भी रिकॉर्ड से हटा दिया जाए,लेकिन जिन्हें हटाया या मिटाया नहीं जा सकता,वो हैं “HAHK-हम अडानी के हैं कौन” श्रृंखला के तहत PM से पूछे गए सवाल,जिनकी संख्या 78 हो गई है।
चुप्पी तोड़िए प्रधानमंत्री जी। pic.twitter.com/OpUdWiXciM
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 10, 2023
He mentioned the governments of India, Japan and Sri Lanka (then headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe) signed a memorandum on May 28, 2019 to develop the East Container Terminal within the Colombo South port.

A 12 months later, on June 9, 2020, the Sri Lankan cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa introduced that India had “selected” Adani Ports as its international terminal operator, Ramesh mentioned.

He added that following the surprising cancellation of the deal, the Rajapaksa authorities as a substitute supplied Colombo’s West Container Terminal to India and Japan beneath a 35-year construct, function and switch lease, which was finalised on September 30, 2021.

“A Sri Lankan cabinet spokesperson said that India had ‘nominated’ Adani Ports as the partner. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry described it as a ‘government-to-government’ port project in a 5 March 2023 interview. On what basis did you ‘select’ and ‘nominate’ Adani Ports for this government-to-government deal?” Ramesh requested in his assertion addressed to Modi.

“Did any other Indian firms have the opportunity to consider investing or did you simply reserve the deal for your close friends?” he requested.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee authorities’s 2002 resolution to not put money into the strategic Hambantota port cleared the trail for Chinese companies to enter Sri Lanka’s ports sector, he alleged.

ALSO READ | Govt desires to ‘hand over’ India’s meals grain logistics to Adani Group, alleges Congress

Ramesh mentioned India’s funding in Colombo is partly pushed by the necessity to counter China’s enlargement within the speedy neighbourhood. “However, as we pointed out on March 3, 2023, the Adani Group has disturbing connections with Chinese nationals such as the Adani family confidant Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo-Chang) who has been involved, among other things, in violating UN sanctions against China and Pakistan’s ally North Korea,” he mentioned.

Are these connections undeserving of investigation by “ordinarily hyperactive investigative agencies”, the previous Union minister requested.

He accused the prime minister of indulging in “hectic lobbying for his cronies”, together with for a 500-megawatt wind energy venture in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. “The former head of the Ceylon Electricity Board, MMC Ferdinando, testified on June 10, 2022 before the Parliament of Sri Lanka that on October 24, 2021, ‘the President (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) summoned me after a meeting and said that India’s Prime Minister Modi is pressuring him to hand over the project to the Adani Group’,” the Congress chief alleged.

Although he retracted the feedback beneath strain, Ferdinando’s remarks had fully uncovered the nexus of crony capitalism, he mentioned.

“Are you under the impression that your main job is to secure contracts for your friend Gautam Adani, in India and outside, rather than work for the people of India?” Ramesh requested the prime minister and urged him to interrupt his “silence” on the problem.

OPINION | Hindenburg impact on the way forward for Adani shares: Part I

OPINION | Hindenburg impact on way forward for Adani Businesses: Part II