Adani vs Hindenburg, BBC documentary, NEET — Stalin’s plot points for DMK MPs as Budget Day nears
Politics

Adani vs Hindenburg, BBC documentary, NEET — Stalin’s plot points for DMK MPs as Budget Day nears

Vice-President's comments on Constitution also in list. MPs asked to ensure DMK’s points are heard in Parliament, and advised to maintain caution while addressing media.

   
File photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin | PTI

File photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin | PTI

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin has instructed all MPs of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to bring up the allegations of fraud made by short-seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group in Parliament.

Stalin, who is the DMK chief, had a meeting Sunday of all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs of the party to strategise for the budget session of Parliament, which begins Tuesday.

Other than Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani Group, Stalin also directed DMK MPs to take up other matters such as the Modi government’s ban on a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project that will create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka, and the DMK’s opposition to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The Tamil Nadu assembly recently passed a resolution urging the Centre to implement the Sethusamudram project, while the state’s anti-NEET Bill is awaiting the President’s assent.

Former DMK Rajya Sabha MP T.K.S Elangovan, who was part of the Sunday meeting, spoke about the charges against the Adani Group. “Hindenburg Research’s finding on the Adani Group is a major economic issue. The country has just come out of a major economic recession after the Covid pandemic,” he said.

On January 24, Hindenburg Research, a US-based investor research company, released a report that alleged the Adani Group “engaged in brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.

A day after the release of the report, shares of seven listed Adani companies saw a sharp drop of between 1 to 9 per cent, raising concern in the Indian share market. Over three days, the Adani Group witnessed a stock market meltdown of nearly $50 billion.

“We want economic development. Single individual trying to spoil the economy of the country. Everyone should get angry and everyone should try to stop him (Adani Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani). He is doing it under the protection of the Government of India, and so everyone should care for this,” Elangovan said.

The Adani Group on Sunday hit back at the Hindenburg report and called it a “calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India”.

The group’s 413-page statement said the Hindenburg report contained “misleading claims” with the motive of making financial gains.

The US short-seller countered the Adani statement by saying the response “predictably tried to lead the focus away from substantive issues and instead stoked a nationalist narrative, claiming our report amounted to a ‘calculated attack on India’.”

Opposition parties such as the Congress and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) have slammed the suggestion that allegations against the Adani Group amount to a “calculated attack on India”.

“When did Adani become India? This is hilarious beyond belief,” Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted Monday.

“Modiji is India, India is Modiji. Adani group is India, India is Adani Group. BJP is India, India is BJP. Stock Market is India, India is Stock Market. Please help me list all that is India in New India…?” mocked Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi.


Also Read: Hindenburg report intended to create false market, says Adani Group


‘Focus on TN-related issues’

Apart from the Adani Group report, CM Stalin has asked his parliamentarians to bring up the ban on the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ in Parliament, along with state-related issues.

One key matter is of NEET, which Stalin has urged his MPs to draw a spotlight on with the support of like-minded parties.

In 2021, the Tamil Nadu Assembly first passed a bill to dispense with NEET-based admissions for undergraduate medical degree courses in the state, but it was returned by Governor R. N. Ravi. In 2022, the state readopted the Bill, which was forwarded by the Governor to the President in May and is currently awaiting assent.

The other subjects the MPs were asked to focus on include expediting the Madurai AIIMS project, international status for Madurai airport, and the conflict between Tamil Nadu fishermen and the Sri Lankan Navy.

While the MPs were asked to ensure the DMK’s points are well-heard in Parliament, they have also been advised to maintain caution while addressing the media, said senior DMK leaders.

The party’s official statement after the meeting said the issue of “unnecessary” comments by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on the basic characteristics of the Constitution will also be raised by the MPs.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)


Also Read: Adani-Hindenburg row erupts into war of words, neither side backing down