Senior lawyer and former Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani has criticized the Congress party for its stance on the indictment against the Adani Group in the United States, calling it a case of “reading too much” into the allegations for “purely political purposes.” The prominent lawyer has asserted that there is no credible evidence of wrongdoing in India to justify the Congress’ demand for a parliamentary probe.
Adani Group and the US Indictment: The Context
The controversy stems from an indictment by the US Department of Justice that has put the Adani Group under scrutiny. The indictment references allegations of bribery in connection with solar energy contracts. Congress has leveraged this case to demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani Group’s activities.
However, Mahesh Jethmalani has questioned the basis of these demands, emphasizing the lack of evidence implicating the conglomerate or Indian officials in any bribery scheme.
“No Evidence of Bribery in India,” Says Jethmalani
Speaking to the media, Jethmalani dismissed the Congress’ claims as unfounded. He stated, “What is the evidence which proves that there was any conspiracy to bribe Indian officials to get these solar energy contracts? (There is) nothing in the indictment.”
He further criticized the Congress party for relying solely on the US indictment, which, he argued, lacks evidence of any malpractice within India, “Congress party is blindly relying on an indictment against an Indian conglomerate which has undertaken extremely useful businesses in India and abroad. This is not in India’s interest, and to blindly follow a US court indictment which gives no evidence and does not suggest that any of the Adanis or the company which issued the bonds, Adani Green, have done any wrong in India.”
A “Conspiracy to Halt India’s Growth”
Jethmalani alleged that the Congress’ persistent focus on the Adani Group is a deliberate effort to tarnish India’s image and derail its economic progress. “This is a conspiracy to stop India’s growth story. You are repeatedly going after one corporate group, trying to embarrass the Prime Minister. He is an industrialist who has executed many infrastructure projects successfully in India and abroad of which you should be proud.”
He accused Congress of acting as “local agents of a foreign power” with vested interests in undermining India’s economic momentum. “Don’t rush to condemn him blindly following a US indictment. Indirectly, you affect retail investors,” he warned.
The Case for Evidence-Based Action
The senior lawyer firmly rejected calls for a Joint Parliamentary Committee or other investigative probes in India unless credible evidence is presented by Congress. “There is no need for an inquiry by any authority in India or a Joint Parliamentary Committee unless the Congress puts out ‘credible evidence’ in the public domain,” he said.
Jethmalani criticized the Congress for creating “noise” and disrupting parliamentary proceedings without substantiating their allegations. “You only want to create some kind of noise and disrupt Parliament. This is completely unwarranted,” he added.
