New Delhi: Congress on Thursday said that a thorough investigation into the Adani issue is necessary and that holding any committee other than Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) will be nothing but an “exercise in legitimisation and exoneration”.


The party’s general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh said that a proposal before the Supreme Court for setting up a committee by the government can hardly ensure transparency.


According to PTI, in a statement, Ramesh said, a Supreme Court bench on February 13 while hearing petitions on the Adani-Hindenburg matter discussed creating a committee of experts to examine the regulatory regime post the allegations made by the US-based short-seller.


He said it had directed the Government to give its submissions in this regard by February 17.


"Where the allegations are of close, intertwined proximity between the ruling dispensation, the government of India and the Adani Group, the setting up of a committee with terms of reference proposed by the Government of India can hardly carry any insignia or reassurance of independence or transparency," he said.


Ramesh said that it was an exercise initiated by the government of India and the Adani Group to “cover up, avoid, evade and bury all genuine scrutiny”. He alleged that it is becoming clear that the proposed Committee is part of a carefully orchestrated exercise by these vested interests to prevent any real investigations into the Adani Group’s relationship with the ruling regime. 


 "If the prime minister and his government are to be held accountable, any committee other than a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) will be nothing but an exercise in legitimisation and exoneration," he claimed.


Jairam Ramesh said that given the nature of the allegations, the “link” and the ruling regime must be examined in the “full light of day” by elected officials accountable to the public. 


"An evaluation of the regulatory and statutory regime by experts is in no manner equivalent to an investigation by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Such a committee, however competently staffed, cannot be a substitute for a thorough investigation into the political-corporate nexus that has come to light in the last two weeks. It simply does not have the authority, resources, or jurisdiction to examine the issues that the Opposition has raised," he said asserting that a JPC probe on the Adani issue is necessary.


Ramesh claimed that several JPCs have been constituted in the past to look into matters of public importance, such as irregularities in securities and banking transactions as well as the stock-market scam of 2001.


He further claimed that these reports have been crucial to prosecution that have followed and have provided the bedrock for legislative changes to prevent similar manipulative practices.


The Congress has been demanding a JPC probe into the allegations against the Adani Group by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research.


The Adani Group dismissed the allegations calling them baseless.