Congress repeats 'arrest Gautam Adani' call, BJP says 'Soros script'

Adani bribery case: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned as it saw stormy scenes after several opposition leaders gave notices for a discussion on the Adani bribery case. Rahul Gandhi repeated his call for Adani's arrest.

In Short

• Both houses adjourned for the day after ruckus over Adani bribery case
• Rahul Gandhi says Modi government protecting Adani
• Mukul Rohatgi says Gautam Adani not charged with corruption

The Adani bribery case echoed both inside and outside Parliament on Wednesday as the Congress and the BJP engaged in a slugfest after the Adani Group said the billionaire has not been charged with corruption in the US indictment. Both houses were adjourned as Parliament saw stormy scenes after several opposition leaders gave notice for a discussion on the bribery case, suspending all other business.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi repeated his call for Adani's arrest, saying the industrialist would never accept the charges mentioned by US prosecutors.

"Do you think Adani is going to accept the charges? Obviously, he is going to deny the charges. The point is he has to be arrested. Hundreds of people are being arrested on tiny charges. Adani has been indicted in the United States for thousands of crores. He should be in jail. The government is protecting him," Rahul Gandhi said.

'MODANI ECOSYSTEM ATTEMPTING DAMAGE CONTROL'

Last week, a New York court indicted Gautam Adani and his nephew for allegedly promising Rs 2,029 crore of bribes to state government officials in India for securing solar power contracts between 2020-2024. The Adani Group as well as former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi have claimed Adani has not been named in key bribery or obstruction of justice charges in the indictment.

Taking a swipe at Rohatgi, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the "Modani ecosystem" was attempting damage control through denial. "Not surprisingly, the Modani ecosystem has let loose big legal cannons this morning... This laughable attempt cannot dilute the seriousness of the charges levelled by US agencies," he said.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ON THE ADANI BRIBERY CASE

Ramesh also called on the ED, CBI, and SEBI to investigate the Adani Group's dealings rather than act as "tools of a corrupt political-business nexus". "This is the moment of reckoning for our institutions and the Indians who occupy those offices. History will neither forgive nor forget this moment," he said.

'SOROS SCRIPT BEING ENACTED IN INDIA'

Hitting back at the Raebareli MP, BJP national spokesperson Tom Vadakkan accused the Congress of doing US investor George Soros's bidding.

"This is not an attack by the Congress but a Soros script being enacted in India... The US administration has also realised that this is a case that has been funded by Soros. This is a script that is outside India to defeat India economically," Vadakkan told India Today.

The BJP has linked Soros to Congress on several occasions as the American businessman has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Vadakkan also dared the Congress to file an FIR. "They have the legal option. Then there will be a probe and that probe will prove them wrong and the Soros connection will be exposed," he said.