Rahul Gandhi doubles down on Adani-Hindenburg case post latest salvo against SEBI chief: ‘Will have to discuss…’

Adani-Hindenburg Case: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has said that he would hold a press conference soon to talk on the latest salvo of Hindenburg Research on the ‘Adani money siphoning scandal’. The Congress had on Monday stepped up its attack on the Modi government over Hindenburg's allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch with the Grand Old Party threatening a nationwide stir if a JPC probe is not initiated.

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that a ‘byte would not do’ when the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was asked to comment on the Hindenburg report published on Saturday, 10 August.

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, “We will have to discuss this in depth. I will hold a Press conference shortly”, on his demand to conduct joint parliamentary committee investigation into the Hindenburg report.

The Hindenburg Research has alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the "Adani money siphoning scandal". The allegations has been refuted by the Buch duo calling it an attempted “character assassination”, and an attack on the credibility of SEBI.

Meanwhile, the Congress pressed its demand for the SEBI chief's resignation and urged the Supreme Court to transfer the Adani probe to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team given the "likelihood of SEBI's compromise".

Rahul Gandhi had on Sunday posted a video on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) questioning why SEBI chief had not resigned. The Congress LoP furthered his tirade to enquire, “If investors lose their hard-earned money, who will be held accountable—PM Modi, the SEBI Chairperson, or Gautam Adani?”.

“It is now abundantly clear why Prime Minister Modi is so afraid of a JPC probe and what it might reveal.” Gandhi added.

Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate rocked by a Hindenburg Research report in 2023, faced another heavy share selloff on Monday, 12 August, after the US-based short seller accused the head of India's market regulator SEBI of having links to offshore funds also used by the group.

$2.43 billion, or 1%, had been wiped off the market value of Adani companies by the end of the trading day, although that was a substantial recovery from earlier losses of more than $13 billion, reported Reuters.

The report added that the shares in the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises closed out Monday 1.1% lower, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions were down between 0.6% and 4.2%. Only Adani Green bucked the trend, closing 1% higher.