Adani row: Cong holds nationwide demonstrations

Against the backdrop of the controversy about the Adani Group over allegations of financial irregularities and market manipulation, Congress party workers staged nationwide protests outside State Bank of India (SBI) branches and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices on Monday.
The Indian Youth Congress staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday and demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into the fraud allegations against the Adani Group.
Led by IYC national president Srinivas B V, the protesters raised slogans against the Modi government and carried placards reading: “Taxpayers’ money through SBI and LIC was poured into the Adani Group. But now why govt has no answers”.
In Rajasthan, the Congress party staged demonstrations to draw the public’s attention to the Adani issue, a party spokesperson said.
He said the protests were held to highlight that SBI and LIC have made risky investments in the Adani group, endangering the hard-earned savings of people.
PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas and other leaders participated in the protest.
In Lucknow, Congress staged a protest march amid heavy police deployment demanding a detailed inquiry into the Hindenburg allegations against the Adani group, conducted, either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The party also handed over a memorandum of its demands, addressed to the President of India, to the Commissioner of Police.
In Punjab, Congress workers demanded a probe into the accusations made against the Adani group in the Hindenburg research report. Demonstrations were held at Baranla, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot.
In Hoshiarpur, local Congress workers led by former MLA and District Congress Committee president Arun Kumar Dogra staged a ‘dharna’ for about an hour in front of the local office of LIC. They also shouted slogans against the BJP.
In Himachal Pradesh, Congress staged a dharna and sought an impartial investigation into the allegations made against the Adani group in the Hindenburg Research report.
The party leaders sought the probe to be conducted either under the watch of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC). They alleged that the Modi government was selling all the government properties and giving benefits to a few selected industrialists.
The call for nationwide protests was given by All India Congress Chief (AICC), said state Congress chief, Pratibha Singh, accusing the Modi government of exposing the masses’ investments to risk. The ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh on Monday staged protests in front of the LIC and SBI offices in all the district headquarters across the state. The protesters sought a joint parliamentary probe into the allegations against the Adani group as well as a white paper on the issue from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government.
Addressing the gathering outside the Jai Stambh Chowk branch of SBI, Chhattisgarh Congress chief Mohan Markam said the allegations show LIC and SBI made “risky investments” in the Adani group.
The common man, who has been affected by the stock rout, needs to know who sanctioned such “disproportionate loans” from state entities to the group, Markam said.
Congress supporters staged protests outside SBI and LIC offices across 24 districts of the state demanding probe.
In Jharkhand capital Ranchi, Congress supporters staged a demonstration outside the SBI branch in the Kutchery area and the LIC office in the Hinoo area with placards and posters.
“It is a serious concern that the central government allowed investment of public money, held by the LIC and SBI, in the Adani group. Common men are in for a great loss,” state Congress president Rajesh Thakur said. “We demand that the government discuss the issue in Parliament. Government should use the CBI and ED rightly in such a case,” he said.