The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday carried out a nationwide protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over the Hindenburg-Adani case. Demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter, AAP members across the country hit the streets and marched towards BJP headquarters of different states. In the national capital, party leaders including Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Durgesh Pathak demonstrated outside BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.
AAP MLA Bharadwaj said industrialist Gautam Adani followed the market share scam that was described by famous comedian Jaspal Bhatti in one of his skits almost 25 years ago. He went on to explain the scheme mentioned in the skit to the public gathered there and how Adani incorporated it in his business dealings. “Everybody must watch Jaspal Bhatti’s show and show how PM Narendra Modi is implementing that scam,” he said.
Also read: Adani-Hindenburg row: SC flags loss of ‘lakhs of crores’, questions efficacy of SEBI’s framework
On JPC probe, Delhi minister Gopal Rai alleged that PM Modi is afraid of investigation and said that the nation is being compromised in the name of nationalism.
“Arvind Kejriwal confidently says conduct investigation against us, not once but for100 times, we will come clean. But Narendra Modi why are afraid? You should also carry out an investigation on yourself once,” he added.
Massive protests were carried out in different cities and states including Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Bengaluru.
In Chandigarh, water cannon was used to stop AAP workers to march towards BJP office. They were shouting slogans and carrying party flags while forcing their way into BJP office. In Kolkata, AAP workers started rallying from Wellington Square and ended at the BJP state headquarters.
The AAP and other opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Shiv Sena (ex-Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s faction), have forced multiple adjournments of Parliament’s Budget session, demanding a probe into allegations posed against Adani, in the wake of Hindenburg report.
Opposition leaders have also flagged the “large exposure” of public financial bodies like the Life Insurance Corporation and the State Bank of India, which have invested in Adani stocks.
