Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the US State Department and “deep state” elements in the US of trying to destabilise India in conjunction with a group of investigative journalists and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
Media reports say that Gandhi’s Congress party has used the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)’s articles that “singularly focused” on the Adani Group and its closeness to the government to undermine Modi, according to the ruling party. It may be mentioned here that Group chair Gautam Adani and seven others were indicted last month in the US for being part of a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials.
That Gautam Adani has played the most important role in the rise of Sangh Parivar in general and BJP in particular is a fact. The investment that this billionaire has made in BJP over a period of time has accrued to him a host of highly valuable benefits.
That is why he is the prime target of Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Opposition, who has been assailing the business tycoon day in, day out. It was only yesterday that Rahul called on Lok Sabha Speaker Lok Saba Om Birla and urged him to delete allegations against him by BJP MPs. He claimed that BJP has been making ‘unfounded’ allegations against him to divert attention from the Adani controversy. One of the allegations against Rahul is about his purported ties with US billionaire investor George Soros.
Be that as it may, the humiliation faced by BJP in this year’s general election came as a surprise to India’s major companies. These companies largely depend on public order and political favours. Gautam Adani’s group tops the list of such companies.
Congress leadership often claims that the party created a number of valuable assets that are contributing to the national economy and the BJP is simply selling them at throwaway prices. Last but not least, there’s no denying that crony capitalism pays off handsomely for BJP. It can pay for Congress as well.
Shahid Shirvanee (Dubai)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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