Companies competing with Adani for 'prized assets' faced CBI, ED, IT raids: Congress
New Delhi, Aug 5: The Congress on Saturday cited the takeover of a cement company to allege that probe agencies were being misused by the BJP government to "enrich" a select few crony capitalists.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that in sectors such as airports, ports and cement, companies competing with the Adani Group for prized assets have faced CBI, ED and Income Tax raids "that have dissuaded them from proceeding with their bids, and the assets have ultimately gone to Adani".
"In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors," he said in a statement.
"The latest episode involves the takeover of Sanghi Industries by the Adani-owned Ambuja Cements," Ramesh said.
"Aap chronology samjhiye: April 28, 2023: India's third-largest cement producer Shree Cement is reported to be in talks to acquire Sanghi Industries. June 21, 2023: Income Tax Department launches raids against Shree Cement at five locations. July 19, 2023: Shree Cement exits race to acquire Sanghi Industries. August 3, 2023: Adani-owned Ambuja Cements announces it has acquired Sanghi Industries," the Congress leader claimed.
Ramesh said Sanghi's unit in Sanghipuram, Gujarat, is India's largest single-location cement and clinker plant.
The associated Sanghipuram Port will also further facilitate Adani's ports monopoly, he alleged.
"Agencies like the ED and CBI are not only being used to break apart opposition parties and bring down opposition-ruled governments, with 95 per cent of investigations aimed against opposition leaders. Prized assets like Mumbai airport, Krishnapatnam Port and, now, Sanghi Industries are being handed over to the Adani Group following raids by these agencies," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Ramesh said the party has every expectation that, as in previous cases, the promoters of Shree Cement will be "pressured" to deny that the raids affected their decision to withdraw from bidding.
Congress has been raising several questions on the Adani issue ever since a US research firm Hindenburg came out with allegations of stock manipulation and financial irregularities against the Adani Group and demanded answers from the government.
The Adani Group denied all the allegations made in the Hindenburg report and claimed there had been no wrongdoing on its part.
The entire Budget session of Parliament was washed out over the Adani issue, with the opposition demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the entire issue.
In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for PM Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 5, 2023
The latest episode is the chronology… pic.twitter.com/fiCTDiRCne
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BJP workers protest Bengaluru event on Umar Khalid, taken into preventive custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP workers, led by former Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, staged a protest outside the heavily fortified BIC in the city on Tuesday ahead of an event.
The editors of the book “Umar Khalid and His World” have planned a reading of excerpts from the book at the venue, followed by a discussion involving several “historians and intellectuals”.
The BJP activists raised slogans demanding the cancellation of the event. They attempted to enter the venue by breaking through the barricades put up by the police.
Police personnel deployed at the spot took the BJP workers into preventive custody.
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The party had on Monday petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh seeking cancellation of the event organised in support of activist Umar Khalid.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan met the commissioner and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Khalid is currently in jail in connection with allegations of conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots.
In a post on ‘X’ earlier in the day, the Karnataka BJP alleged that while courts are still hearing cases related to anti-national activities, the Congress-backed ecosystem is busy glorifying individuals who aim to divide Bharat.
“Why is Bengaluru being turned into a hub for celebrating such elements? Is this the ‘cultural contribution’ the Siddaramaiah government wants to promote? Our city is a land of innovators and patriots, not a playground for the ‘Tukde Tukde’ (divisive) narrative,” it alleged.
The Supreme Court on April 20 dismissed Khalid’s plea seeking review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The court had earlier said there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (another accused) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that prosecution material suggests their involvement in the “planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction” of the riots.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
