"Does govt have hand in Adani's growth," Congress' Venugopal attacks Centre

Kochi (Kerala) [India], February 12 : Amid the row over the Hindenburg-Adani issue Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday attacked the Centre and said people of the country need an answer whether the government has hand in Adani Group's growth or not.
"Rahul Gandhi raised the Adani issue in Lok Sabha, but instead of giving answers, Prime Minister abused Congress, he did it to run away from this issue. People need an answer, whether the government has hand in Adani's growth or not. Now people are seeing how Adani has grown as a millionaire and one of the biggest corporates in the world," Venugopal told ANI.
"Hindenburg research report has created lot many confusion and the Government of India had invested through LIC and SBI to strengthen Adani and his business. The country needs a question on this Adani scam whether the Government of India supported him or not supported him," he added.
As far as Congress is concerned, Venugopal said the party's priority is to stand against the divisive policies of the Union Government.
"This is our first and foremost priority to make the people of India united. This is our agenda. In Haath se Haath Jodo campaign, we will go to every house to spread the message of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on three topics - inflation, unemployment and divisiveness in society. We are conducting a house-to-house campaign against the BJP government's anti-national policies," added the congress leader.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday reiterated his party's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the businesses of the Adani Group in the wake of the report by US short-seller firm Hindenburg Research.
Addressing a press conference, Kharge said, "Shouldn't there be an inquiry into the Adani scam? Shouldn't the matter be referred to the JPC? Should not there be a discussion on the money that public sector banks invested in Adani's businesses? Public money is involved in it. Why does the government have a problem taking Adani's name?"
Kharge alleged that PM Modi acted as an 'agent' for the Adani group of companies.
The Congress national president added, "Modi-ji acted as Adani's agent and got him tenders in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Everybody knows about this."
Questioning the regulatory bodies of the country, Kharge said, "The RBI, SEBI, ED, Corporate Affairs Ministry, Income Tax, and the CBI seem paralysed. Can they not see the corruption here? Is Adani invisible to them? With our institutions in inertia, it is our duty to question the government. The people sent us to the Parliament as their representatives and it is our responsibility to safeguard the public."
"We tried to raise several issues in the Parliament. However, the Prime Minister evaded all questions and just gave an election speech, boasting about himself," Kharge added.
Last week, amid the opposition sloganeering on the Hindenburg-Adani row and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter by the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed both houses of Parliament during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
On Thursday, launching a scathing attack on Congress and other opposition parties who have been targeting him, Prime Minister Modi in the Rajya Sabha said "one person (Modi) is proving too much for so many" and that the more muck is raised by parties opposed to the BJP, the more the saffron party's lotus will bloom.
A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.
However, the Adani group had termed the report "nothing but a lie".
In a statement, Adani Group said Adani portfolio and the Adani verticals are focused on bringing India into the global economy and nation-building. In the summary of the long response by Adani Group, it said the report was "nothing but a lie".