New Delhi [India], November 27 : Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani on Thursday said that the Congress and other Opposition parties are using the issue of the indictment against the Adani Group in the US "to divert attention from their electoral defeats" and said they must provide credible evidence before demanding a parliamentary probe.
"The Congress is reading too much into this indictment and they are doing it for purely political purposes...," Jethmalani said.
Regarding the US Department of Justice indictment, Jethmalani said, "As far as the indictment is concerned, it is very sketchy, the timing is very suspicious, it has come just before the eve of the parliamentary session...No offence is alleged in the indictment against any of the Adanis or Adani Green..."
"There is not a single piece of evidence in this indictment, nor has the Congress party who today has again asked on an adjournment motion for discussion given any evidence as to why any infractions of Indian law were concerned," the senior lawyer said he said.
Ahead of the commencement of Parliament Winter Session today, Congress MPs Manickam Tagore, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Manish Tewari moved adjournment notices to discuss the issue.
"This adjournment motion and all this noise which the Congress party has made is completely misconceived...What is the evidence which proves that there was any conspiracy to bribe Indian officials to get these solar energy contracts? There is nothing in the indictment. The Congress party is relying blindly on an indictment against an Indian conglomerate which has undertaken useful businesses for India abroad and it is trying to undermine them...," Jethmalani said.
The Rajya Sabha MP further said, "I repeat, there is no case of any bribery in India in that indictment. Congress is reading too much into this indictment and they are doing it for purely political purposes..."
The senior lawyer claimed that the Congress was seeking to divert attention from its drubbing in the recent Assembly elections.
"This is clearly a political tool. They have just had a rout in the Maharashtra elections. They've been successful winners in coalition on the coat tails of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha but Maharashtra was a prize which they were very confident of winning. This is a completely divergent tactic. They have no other issues."
"You will see that constantly the Congress Party in particular and the INDI alliance sometimes harp on only two issues in which there is foreign meddling. One is Adani and the other is Manipur. These are both issues which they should stay away from. I regret to say that it is not in the country's interest to keep promoting these and playing with fire," Jethmalani said.
Jethmalani suggested that the opposition's repeated targeting of Adani was "immature" and "unfounded." The opposition was attacking Adani without any solid evidence or legal basis to support its claims, effectively making it a political tool rather than a genuine legal issue, he added.
Jethmalani further hinted at a broader political strategy, suggesting that opposition parties are using the Adani issue to disrupt parliamentary proceedings. He accused them of conspiring to create a situation where the Parliament cannot function smoothly, especially just before a session, thereby distracting from more important legislative work.
The Adani Group has rejected the bribery allegations made by US authorities against its founder Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain.
In response to media reports claiming violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by the executives, Adani Green Energy today issued a statement calling the reports "incorrect."
The statement clarified, "Media articles suggesting that our directors, including Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain, have been charged with violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), are incorrect."