A man sits next to a poster put up during a protest by India’s main opposition Congress party against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in New Delhi, India. — Reuters/File
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party said it had no reason to defend billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday following his US indictment over alleged bribery to secure power deals in India.
The main opposition Congress party has accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and stonewalling independent investigations into his dealings in the country, charges the ruling party has denied. Congress workers have also held street protests demanding a parliamentary probe.
US prosecutors have charged Adani, the ports-to-power group’s founder, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply deals across five Indian regions.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port earlier in January 2023, in Haifa port, Israel. — Reuters/File
The group has denied the charges, calling them “baseless” and adding that it would “seek all possible legal recourse”.
Federal Indian investigating agencies and the markets regulator have not commented on the indictment and did not respond to Reuters queries.
“We have nothing to defend him and we are not involved. Let him defend himself,” BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said by phone. “We are not against industrialists. We consider them as partners in nation-building. But the law will take its own course if they do something wrong.”
Agarwal’s comments came after a state ruled by an alliance including the BJP, Andhra Pradesh, said it would explore if it was possible to cancel a power supply contract linked to the Adani Group in the state.
