'PM Got His Drumbeaters To Get Parliament Adjourned So That...': Congress Doubles Down On Adani Row

Congress said there are claims that Adani's brother is at the centre of a "shell company that owns critical infrastructure firms which have revenues of Rs 51,400 crore in one year and zero the next?"

After both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till Tuesday, Congress on Monday lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for avoiding the demand for JPC into the Adani Maha Mega Scam being raised in the Parliament today. 

Jairam Ramesh tweeted: "The PM got his drumbeaters to get Parliament adjourned today so that the demand for JPC into the Adani MahaMegaScam does not get raised. But that will not stop HAHK( Hum Adanike Hain Kaun)-27. Chuppi Todiye Pradhan Mantriji."

In the twenty-seventh edition of the party's 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun' series that poses three questions daily on the Adani-Hindenburg report, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh asked the centre whether Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Gautam Adani, will be investigated by the central agencies such as ED. Congress leader said there are claims that Adani's brother is at the centre of a "shell company that owns critical infrastructure firms which have revenues of Rs 51,400 crore in one year and zero the next?"

Referring to Adani Group's claim that Vinod Adani is "uninvolved with group management and decision-making," Ramesh stated: "Yet almost every week there are fresh disclosures that show this to be a laughable deception. In the 19 February 2023 HAHK we had pointed to the Adani Group announcement on 16 September 2022 that "the Adani Family, through Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, has successfully completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd" and a SEBI filing that stated "the ultimate beneficial ownership of the Acquirer is held by Mr. Vinod Shantilal Adani and Mrs. Ranjanben Vinod Adani”." 

"If Vinod Adani is at such arms length from the Adani Group, how have Adani Enterprises executives become senior managers at Ambuja Cements and ACC? Why does the Competition Commission of India assert that Endeavour belongs to the Adani Group?" he asked. 

Asking if central agencies such as ED will investigate Vinod Adani, Ramesh stated: "Media reports show that the shell company Acropolis Trade and Investment owns Xcent Trade and Investment, which in turn owns Endeavour. The Mauritius-based Acropolis and Xcent both have Subir Mittra, who heads the Adani Family Office, as a director. Vinod Adani is a director in Acropolis which reported $7 billion (Rs 51,400 crore) as revenue and profit (given near-zero expenses) in 2020-21 but zero income and a $25,980 loss in 2021-22. How does a shell company that owns these critical infrastructure firms have revenues of Rs 51,400 crore in one year and zero the next? Will agencies like the Enforcement Directorate ever investigate where these funds are coming from and where are they going?"