'Not a squeak from regulators': Congress' Supriya Shrinate tears into ongoing Adani vs Hindenburg row

Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that there hasn’t been a squeak from the Indian regulators on the ongoing Adani Group vs Hindenburg Research row that has led to a rout in the former's stocks. Shrinate questioned BJP’s Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi on how the Modi government is incentivising India Inc or corporate India by letting one man build monopolies in sectors like ports, airports, food, agriculture, and renewable energy. 

Shrinate said during a panel discussion by Business Today Executive Director Rahul Kanwal at the BT Budget Roundtable, “How is the Modi government incentivising corporate India by letting one man build leading monopolies across ports, airports, food, agriculture, and renewable energy? And, look at what that contagion is doing to corporate markets. Look at what that contagion is doing to LIC, look at what that contagion is doing to SBI, and not a squeak from India’s regulators.” 

She added that indices such as the Dow Jones and S&P have put out statements claiming fraudulent and serious allegations against the ports-to-power conglomerate and that institutions like Citigroup, Standard Chartered, and Credit Suisse have refused to accept Adani Group bonds as collateral on loans. 

Shrinate furthermore noted, “Let me tell you in my earlier capacity as a former business news journalist. I can tell you there is SEBI, there is RBI, there is IRDA which is the insurance regulator, there is DRAI, there is ED, there is SFIO, there is MCA. Multiple agencies and institutions actually should be looking into the mess on which the government has chosen to maintain a stoic silence.”

Responding to Shrinate’s allegations, BJP’s national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the whole Adani Group saga is meant to cut short the India growth story. He harked back to the strike at the Bengaluru Apple factory when the US-based tech megalith shifted iPhone production from China to India to elucidate his point further. 

Trivedi said, “I would like to put forth certain facts. You have said knives out, it is knives out for certain things- to cut the growth story of India. I would like to give an example – the iPhone factory shifted from China to India in Bengaluru you remember two years back. Such a huge strike and violent strike in only the iPhone factory. How come and who is going to be benefitted? I think anybody can understand.”

Retorting to Trivedi’s comments, Shrinate said that he did not name Adani even once. She said, “They do not have the guts to name Adani, they do not have the guts to investigate Adani.” Going ahead, Swadeshi Jagran Manch’s Ashwini Mahajan said the Chinese hand must be investigated in the Adani Group versus Hindenburg Research mess. 

"We have to look at Hindenburg on five points. Is there a conflict of interest? Yes. Can they short-sell in India? No. Are they allowed to publish reports in the US about US companies? No. Whether Adani is burning cash? Who is going to gain from it? China is. Adani is giving good competition to China in every field. So Chinese hands should also be investigated," Mahajan stated.

The political war of words between Congress and the BJP ensued after the British lender Standard Chartered stopped accepting Adani Group bonds as collateral on margin loans, a few days after Citigroup and Credit Suisse stopped giving loans on dollar bonds by Adani Group. The Gautam Adani-led conglomerate is facing allegations of stock manipulation, accounting frauds, and money laundering in a scathing report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

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