By Venkatesh Raghavan
New Delhi: The Opposition Parties today demanded setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged irregularities in Adani Group company shares based on the findings of the Hindenburg Research Report. The issue was echoed within the walls of Parliament House. The government’s response so far is a muted one.
Jairam Ramesh from the Congress Party raised the demand for the JPC. He also demanded that both the banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) should be tasked with the probe. The Congress demanded that if required the regulatory authorities should also pre-empt any bid of the Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani to flee the country by confiscating his passport.
“The efficacy of the entire regulatory mechanism is brought under question. This is not just about a single promoter bidding to violate norms. The issue merits discussion in parliament failing which we will resort to alternate means,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said. He too urged for setting up of a JPC to probe the alleged scam.
While activity in Parliament stalled till 2 p.m. the Opposition MPs called for the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to come forward to address the issue.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra (Lok Sabha) and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut (Rajya Sabha) ensured that the Opposition raised the issue in both Houses of Parliament. The main point of concern expressed was that people who have trusted Public Sector banks like SBI and insurance player LIC risk losing their life savings as these public sector undertakings have given loans to the Adani Group companies to the tune of several thousands of crores of rupees.
Meanwhile, the Adani stocks continued to tumble after the Group chairman announced that the firm has decided to withdraw its recent fully subscribed FPO in wake of market volatility that might hurt the interests of its investors.
Gautam Adani earlier today cancelled the USD 2.5 billion worth of Follow On Public Offering (INR 20,000 crores in rupees) as a measure to safeguard the interests of its investor community. (See video)
However, the decision to return the funds to its investors witnessed another nosedive taking place in the share prices of Adani Group companies, with the market losses estimated to be upward of USD 100 billion. In a brief span of three days, a flurry of activities was witnessed, first with the Group’s FPO being fully subscribed on January 31, 2023, Group Chairman Gautam Adani choosing to withdraw the FPO on February 1 and a steep fall in share prices of its Group companies on February 2.
The markets registered an 8 per cent fall in the shares of Adani Enterprises; a 10 per cent fall in the shares of Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Total. Adani Power and Adani Wilmar too witnessed a sharp dip in share prices ranging from 8.3 per cent to 5 per cent. Adani Ports suffered losses that were comparatively low and stood at 2.7 per cent. The sharp decrease in pricing of the Adani Group company shares has downgraded the firm’s standing in the Forbes billionaire list to the 16th spot, with a net worth of USD 69.2 billion.
Despite the downward spiral the Group companies were continually faced with, Gautam Adani sounded a positive note, stating, “This will not affect our group’s operations or future plans. Our companies are founded on strong fundamentals. Our balance sheet looks healthy and our asset level is also robust.”
*Senior journalist
