‘How can this government be part of…’: Congress questions MEA’s response to Adani allegations

The Congress party has criticized the Ministry of External Affairs’ statement that the Indian government is not involved in the US investigation into the Adani Group. The party questioned how the government could participate in an investigation into itself. This is the first official response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the American prosecutor accused the industrialist of alleged fraud. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has not yet received any request for cooperation in this regard.

An MEA spokesperson said the Indian government is not currently involved in the matter. In response, Congress Secretary General Jairam Ramesh shared these remarks and wrote, “MEA spokesperson claims that the Government of India is not involved in the US investigation into the Adani Group. He simply stated the obvious. How can this government be part of the probe itself?”

The MEA said the indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani by US prosecutors is a “legal matter” involving private companies, individuals and the US Department of Justice, with New Delhi not having been notified of the case in advance. Spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said: “We believe this is a legal matter involving private companies and individuals and the US Department of Justice. Of course, there are established procedures and legal paths in such cases that we believe will be followed.” He further added, “The Government of India has not been informed in advance in this regard. We have not had any discussions with the U.S. government about this.”

Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani Group, his nephew Sagar and another senior executive have been charged by the US Department of Justice in connection with an alleged scheme to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian officials. According to reports, the bribes were intended to secure contracts for the supply of solar energy, which could have generated profits of $2 billion over 20 years. The Adani Group has rejected these allegations, calling them baseless.