Adani Row: Opposition Asks ED To Take Immediate Action After Protest March Halted

After nearly 18 opposition leaders were stopped from handing over a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) demanding a probe into the Adani row, the letter was emailed to the probe agency. 

In the letter to the ED Director S K Mishra, the parties told the probe agency that "it cannot turn around and abdicate its jurisdiction".

Further, the opposition leaders said, "We are acutely aware of how in the recent past, the ED has also zealously pursued cases of alleged political favouritism, including sharing concurrent jurisdiction with SEBI and CBI. We are also aware of the limited remit of the Supreme Court Commission appointed on the subject. We point this out so as to remind the ED that it cannot turn around and abdicate its jurisdiction on these or other grounds".

Earlier today, a march organised by 18 opposition parties which started from the Parliament House was stopped by the police at Vijat Chowk in Delhi. The leaders soon returned to the Parliament complex as the police were allegedly not allowing the opposition MPs to march in protest and present their case for a detailed investigation into the Adani issue.

Letter to the ED

In the letter, the opposition wrote, "In light of the above, we, the members of the Opposition, ask that you take immediate action on the above-mentioned allegations," they told the ED director.

The letter further claimed that over the last three months, several crucial pieces of evidence have been made available against the Adani Group in the public domain. 

"Yet, the Enforcement Directorate, which claims to pursue such cases with vigour and fairness, is yet to launch even a preliminary enquiry into these very serious charges.

"As a result, we are constrained to file this official complaint so that the ED is compelled to investigate a relationship that has serious implications not just for our economy but most importantly, our democracy," they said.

Sharing the contents of the letter on Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Leaders and MPs of 16 opposition parties, who were going to hand over a complaint letter demanding probe into the Adani scam to the ED, were stopped from reaching the ED office this afternoon".

The opposition leaders also alleged that this case involves serious and far-reaching charges of corporate fraud, political corruption, stock-price manipulation through fraudulent means, and the misuse/monopolisation of public resources to benefit a single corporate group.

In the letter, the leaders alleged that the Adani Group companies are accused of having established a network of offshore shell companies and offshore funds controlled by parties related to the Adani Group for the purposes of "artificially inflating stock valuations and to give a distorted picture with regard to the group companies' financial health".

In the letter, the opposition also mentioned recovery of drugs made from Mundra port in September 2021, alleging there has been absolutely no serious investigation into the company charged with running the port on whose watch this grave crime occurred. 

"Given the cross-border implications, it is even more surprising that the jurisdiction of the ED was never invoked in the investigation," the opposition leaders alleged.

"It is surprising that despite all of the above, the ED has shown little to no interest in pursuing a basic investigation into the entities' affairs," they also alleged.

Protest march fizzles out

Opposition MPs of nearly 18 parties held a protest march through which they wanted to give a memorandum to the ED. "The government is not allowing us to march forward and the police have stopped us at Vijay Chowk," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge  Kharge told reporters.

"We want to present our case to ED for a detailed investigation on the Adani issue and we will keep trying to march forward," the Congress chief said.

Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, "We are 200 MPs of opposition parties and were seeking to march to the ED office to present a memorandum for a probe into the Adani issue, but we were stopped forcibly by the police."

"We are going back to Parliament and would stage a protest inside Parliament House," he said, as several MPs returned to Parliament after the police did not allow them to march forward.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said "we will not be deterred from marching forward and will continue with our protest march". 

The protest march began at 12:30 pm from Parliament House and MPs from several opposition parties took part.

The TMC and NCP, however, were not part of the opposition protest march.

The opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue and has been stalling proceedings of Parliament over their demand.

US short-seller Hindenburg Research had alleged that the Adani group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud", and used offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.

The group had denied the allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India

(with PTI inputs)