Groups working overtime to harm our name: Adani Group on Dubey-Moitra spat

The Adani Group has reacted to the alleged 'cash for question' in the Parliament about the Group raised by a BJP parliamentarian against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, saying this development corroborates the conglomerate's recent statement where it said that "some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing."

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and another letter on Monday to Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State (MoS) IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar making "cash for query" allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and demanding an inquiry committee against her. Dubey alleged Moitra took bribes to ask questions on the Adani Group in the Parliament.

Dubey, through his letter, claimed that a lawyer had provided him proof of alleged bribe exchanges between the TMC MP and businessman Darshan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani Group.

Dubey wrote that these allegations must be looked into with the utmost seriousness and an investigation must be initiated to ascertain the IP address of all login credentials of Mahua Moitra's Lok Sabha account and to determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location where she was not present.

In its statement the Adani Group said these charges reveal an arrangement to hurt the groups reputation.

"This development corroborates our statement of 9 Oct 2023 that some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing. In this particular case, the lawyer's complaint reveals that this arrangement to besmirch the reputation and interests of the Adani Group and our Chairman Mr. Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018," an Adani Group spokesperson said Monday.

On October 9, Adani Group had apprised the public, through a media statement and exchange filings, that "some foreign entities like the OCCRP, supported by a section of the foreign media, short-sellers and domestic collaborators, have launched a series of attacks against the Adani Group with the primary intent of dragging down its market value. In fact, these individuals and groups, bound by the common objective of damaging the Adani Group, have developed a playbook which is being executed to perfection by a well-oiled and professional machinery working in sync both within India and abroad."

The conglomerate also pointed out that one tactic in their playbook includes putting out media reports with "an uncanny ability to appear just before the hearing dates of important cases in India's courts." True to predicted form, the Financial Times published a story recycling baseless allegations against the Adani Group on October 12, 2023, just a day before the hearing of an Adani-related case in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Hiranandani Group criticised the allegations made by the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, saying they have "no merit".

"We have always been in the business of business and not in the business of politics. Our group has always worked with the government in the interest of the nation and will continue doing so," said a spokesperson of the Hiranandani Group.