'Leftist lobby created negative narrative against Adani': RSS on row with Hindenburg
2 min read . Updated: 05 Feb 2023, 04:48 PM IST
PremiumAdani row: US short seller Hindenburg Research in a report on January 24 had published a report on Adani Group accusing it of improper use of offshore tax havens and flagging concerns about high debt that sent the Group stocks to crash.
A controversy erupted after Hindenburg Research published a report raising questions about the Adani Group and accused it of stock manipulation along with accounting fraud. Amid this, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) revealed another side of the story on Saturday.
In an article quoted by Hindi Daily, Amar Ujala, the RSS mouthpiece said that a group of Indians has created a negative narrative against Adani. The article pinned blame on an ‘Indian lobby which includes the country’s famous propaganda websites associated with leftist ideology'.
Harping on an ideological and political warfare, the article further stated that this attack is very similar to how ‘anti-India’ George Soros ruined the Bank of England and the Bank of Thailand.
He claimed that this controversy did not start on January 25 after the Hinderburg report, but it already began in 2026-17 in Australia.
According to the RSS mouthpiece, an Australian NGO called Bob Brown Foundation (BBF) manages an exclusive website only to defame Indian Industrialist Gautam Adani.
According to the article in Amar Ujala, the NGO runs a portal- Adaniwatch.org- which started off as an opposing voice to the Adani coal mine in Australia, however, it now targets any project that the Adani Group undertakes.
The article further claimed that BBF does not target Adani projects in Congress or TMC-led states.
Marking out NGOs and websites in India, the Amar Ujala article singled out an alleged contribution of Azim Premji's NGO to Independent and Public-Spirited Media foundation. The article alleged that left minded media houses and NGOs were behind the sudden turmoil of the Adani Group.
US short seller Hindenburg Research in a report on January 24 had published a report on Adani Group accusing it of improper use of offshore tax havens and flagging concerns about high debt that sent the Group stocks to crash.
The group holds short positions in Adani group companies. Hindenburg Research said evidence that the Group has engaged in a 'brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.'
After this, Gautam Adani has also been moved out of the top 20 richest people's list after the share price falls on February 3 is considered.
Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises Ltd. has shelved a plan to raise as much as 10 billion rupees ($122 million) via its first-ever public sale of bonds following a market rout, according to people familiar with the matter.
The flagship firm of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s empire had planned the public note issuance for January, working with Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd., AK Capital, JM Financial, and Trust Capital, Bloomberg had reported in December. But activity has now stopped, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
The turmoil last week forced Adani Enterprises to abruptly pull a record 200 billion-rupee follow-on public offer of shares, and marks a stunning contrast to just a few months ago when the conglomerate was looking to raise funds to finance expansion plans.
