Telangana: Bhatti, ministers vow to continue protests on Adani issue

HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the Congress would continue its nationwide protests until the wealth looted by Gautam Adani is restored to people and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is constituted to probe into Hindenburg Research’s latest allegations into what the party called ‘big Adani scam’.

Addressing the dharna in front of the Enforcement Directorate office here on Thursday, Bhatti said that the nationwide protest was to protect public wealth. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been raising his voice for the last few years to protect the nation’s wealth and against its loot as the wealth belongs to people and not some few individuals, Bhatti said, who was joined by several of his Cabinet colleagues in the protest.

Minister Ponnam Prabhakar accused the BJP-led NDA government of looting the country's wealth and called for a thorough investigation into Adani's assets.

"Adani's illegal assets should be scrutinised by the JPC. If there's nothing to hide, why avoid a JPC probe into the irregularities?" he questioned and expressed that otherwise the country's economy would collapse. Prabhakar accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being at the center of corruption.

He said that Rahul Gandhi had exposed the alleged ties between Adani and Modi. He ridiculed the Centre for using CBI and ED to silence those who were speaking against Adani.

Minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka alleged that Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) officials, who were supposed to investigate irregularities, had instead invested in the Adani Group, further calling into question the integrity of the investigation.

Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy expressed concern that Prime Minister Modi's policies were leading the country into the hands of a few wealthy individuals, while those who opposed him faced persecution.

Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy accused the Modi government of colluding with the Adani group to hand over lucrative projects, including ports and airports, to them. He also accused Sebi chairman of collaborating with Adani to inflate the value of the company's shares, calling for her immediate suspension and a full investigation into the alleged fraud.