Congress on Tuesday alleged the Centre is "running away" from a JPC probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue and said the Government should allow the investigation if it has nothing to hide. The Congress' attack on the Government came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks that there is nothing for the BJP to hide or be afraid of in the matter.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said he has written to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch for an impartial probe into allegations against the Adani Group.
Reacting to Shah's reported remarks, Ramesh said, "If they do not have anything to hide, why are they running away from a Joint Parliamentary Committee (probe). They do not even allow us to raise the demand of JPC in Parliament. When our leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge ji, raised the demand for JPC, their remarks were expunged," Ramesh said. If there is nothing to hide, the government should allow a JPC, he stressed.
On Monday, the Centre agreed to the Supreme Court's proposal to set up a panel of experts to look into strengthening regulatory mechanisms for the stock market in the wake of the recent crash of Adani Group shares triggered by Hindenburg Research's fraud allegations.
Saying it has no objection to constituting the panel, the Centre also stressed that market regulator SEBI and other statutory bodies are "fully equipped" to deal with the situation, not only regime wise, but otherwise as well. According to Ramesh, it is important to look at the petition filed in the court.
Investigation should be against Adani and its ties with the government, the Congress leader said. He also clarified that the Congress is in favour of private investments, which need to be encouraged.
In a statement addressed to the prime minister, Ramesh said the UPA government in its efforts to strengthen economic relations with neighbours had signed an MoU in 2010 for the state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set up a 1,320 MW thermal power plant in Bagerhat, Bangladesh.