“Questions raised by Rahul Gandhi relevant”: KC Venugopal amid fresh allegations against Adani Group

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 31 (ANI): On a day when Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting, a body funded by billionaire global investor George Soros, levelled fresh allegations against the Adani Group, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday said the questions raised by Rahul Gandhi with regard to the “unaccounted money in Adani shell companies” assume fresh relevance.

Speaking to media persons in Mumbai, ahead of the third meeting of the Opposition bloc — INDIA — on Thursday, Venugopal said, “In February, Rahul Gandhi asked who owns the unaccounted money, worth Rs 20,000 crores in Adani Shell companies but none from the government could come up with an answer. Neither was any investigation called for. There were illegal transactions and the government took no action. The questions raised by Rahul Gandhi then assume more significance now. PM Modi needs to come up with answers.”

In light of the fresh allegations against the Adani Group, the Congress on Thursday revived the demand for an inquiry by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). It accused the BJP-led government of rendering the country’s regulatory and investigative agencies “toothless” and “reducing them to political tools to intimidate the Opposition rather than to investigate wrongdoings”.

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Prime Minister Modi had been “silent” on the allegations levelled earlier against the business group and the demand for an investigation.

“A Joint Parliamentary Committee probe is the only way for the truth to come out. We reiterate our demand for a JPC after the new report (by OCCRP). This only goes to show that our institutions failed and rules were violated under their nose. JPC should be formed and a probe must be conducted,” he said.