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BJP, Cong trade barbs after US short-seller announces its closure
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the US short-sellers announcement came on a day when the Congress unveiled its new headquarters, Congress hits back
The BJP and Congress engaged in a war of words on Thursday after Hindenburg Research, whose reports on the Adani Group and SEBI chief had triggered political firestorms in India, announced its closure.
Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the US short-sellers announcement came on a day when the Congress unveiled its new headquarters and took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, asking if he has now got the “contract” to run Hindenburg’s “shop”.
The Congress hit back, saying the closure of Hindenburg Research does not mean a clean chit for “Modani” — referring to alleged close ties between Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Rahul Gandhi is in the complete grip of urban Naxals’ thinking process... Now that Hindenburg is closing its shop, has Rahul Gandhi got the contract for it,” Prasad said at a press conference, alleging that Hindenburg and the Congress used to work in sync for a designed agenda to destabilise India.
Prasad further said that the “shop” of US-based billionaire investor George Soros is also going to close down with the new administration under Donald Trump is set to take over in America. He claimed that Soros funds Hindenburg.
BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Hindenburg Research’s decision to disband comes as “little surprise and coinciding with the Trump administration’s transition into office.”
“As the US Department of Justice plans to investigate the firm’s operations, it’s worth reflecting on how Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party relied on Hindenburg’s reports. They frequently held press conferences and disrupted parliamentary proceedings, basing their actions on findings from this dubious George Soros-funded organization. Hindenburg and its sponsors targeted the Indian stock market, which sees massive participation from retail investors, with the Congress party acting in alignment with their sinister agenda,” Malviya tweeted.
Former Rajya Sabha member Mahesh Jethmalani who was associated with the BJP in the past claimed that Hindenburg Research’s decision to disband amounts to ‘run for cover’ in light of alleged connections to financier George Soros.
“Either he has already been sounded out by investigating authorities in the US or he fears that he will be investigated for his role in the attempt to shake India’s economy by bare hammering of Adani shares,” Jethmalani said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated, “The closure of Hindenburg Research does not, in any way, mean a clean chit for Modani.”
“The Hindenburg report of January 2023 proved serious enough to compel the Supreme Court of India to set up an Expert Committee to probe the allegation made in it against the Adani Group “whose prime patron is none other than the present Prime Minister of India”, he said in a statement.
In a statement early on Thursday (Indian time), Hindenburg’s founder Nathan Anderson announced his decision to shut down the short-selling stock research firm.
The firm’s reports on Adani Group and Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch last year triggered a massive political uproar in India, and the Opposition Congress used them to target PM Modi and the BJP, alleging their closeness to the business conglomerate. Both Adani and Sebi chief had denied all allegations against them.
Hitting back at the BJP for “rejoicing” at the closure of Hindenburg, the Congress said it will continue to expose the Adani Group’s alleged nexus with the BJP.
“The Congress is a 140-year-old party. Even before people knew about Hindenburg, we had been raising the Adani issue. We will continue to expose them. The closure of Hindenburg will not impact us,” party leader Pawan Khera said.
In a statement, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said: “The closure of Hindenburg Research does not, in any way, mean a clean chit for Modani.”
“The Hindenburg report of January 2023 proved serious enough to compel the Supreme Court of India to set up an Expert Committee to probe the allegation made in it against the Adani Group “whose prime patron is none other than the present Prime Minister of India”, he said in a statement.
Ramesh, who had posed questions to the Adani Group and PM Narendra Modi for 100 days after the Hindenburg Report was published, said, “However the Hindenburg Report covered only one part of securities laws violations - of the hydra-headed Modani Mega Scam.
Out of the 100 questions on the Adani Mega Scam that the Congress party had asked of the PM in the Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series during January-March 2023, only 21 questions related to revelations made in the Hindenburg report,” Ramesh said.
“The matter goes far deeper. It involves the abuse of Indian foreign policy to enrich the PM’s close friends at the expense of the national interest. It involves the misuse of investigative agencies to force Indian businesspersons to divest critical infrastructure assets and help Adani build monopolies in airports, ports, defence and cement,” Ramesh alleged.
Trinamool Congress, another key opposition party and a fierce critic of the alleged nexus between the two sides, decided not to respond. Two senior lawmakers of TMC, when contacted by the HT, offered no comments on the Hindenburg issue.
