© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as the head of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah looks on after releasing his party’s election manifesto for the April/May general election, in New Delhi, India, April 8, 2019. RE
By Sudipto Ganguly
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party “has nothing to hide or fear” over the controversy over the Adani group, the home minister said on Tuesday, responding to opposition accusations of favoring the conglomerate. attacked by an American short seller.
Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the seven publicly traded companies that bear his name have together lost about $120 billion in market value since a Jan. 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleging misuse of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. The Adani group has denied the allegations and has threatened legal action against Hindenburg.
“The Supreme Court has taken up the matter. As a minister, if the Supreme Court takes up the matter, it is not right for me to comment,” said Amit Shah, widely considered India’s most powerful politician after Modi. ANI news agency.
“But in this, the BJP has nothing to hide and nothing to fear,” Shah added, referring to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He denied the accusations of crony capitalism and suggested to the opposition that they go to court if they had proof.
The Adani crisis has paralyzed parliament, triggered opposition street protests, prompted investigations by regulators and weighed on the broader markets in a challenge to Modi ahead of a series of state elections this year and a general election next year.
Rivals, including the main opposition party, Congress, accuse Modi and the BJP of long-standing ties to the apples-to-airports Adani group, dating back almost two decades to when Modi was prime minister of the western state of Gujarat. Gautam Adani and Shah also hail from the same state.
However, Modi’s immense popularity seems intact for now, based on approval ratings.
Without referring to Adani, Modi told parliament last week that “the blessings of 1.4 billion people in the country are my protective cover and they cannot destroy it with lies and abuse,” as opposition lawmakers chanted “Adani, Adani.” .
Shares of Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship, fell nearly 4% in early trading on Tuesday. The company, which completed a $2.5 billion share sale earlier this month after depletion of stock, will announce quarterly results later the same day.
Adani Power and Adani Green Energy were also down as the broader Mumbai market was up slightly.
India’s Economic Times newspaper reported Tuesday that Adani Group executives had been negotiating since last week with Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Corp (IHC) for the injection of capital into Adani Enterprises or other group entities.
Adani and IHC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Adani group has appointed accounting firm Grant Thornton for independent audits of some of its companies, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources, even as India’s market regulator said it was investigating the Hindenburg report as well as the market activity immediately before and after the report. the report was published.