Some Groups Working Overtime To Harm Our Name: Adani Group Comments On Mahua Moitra Bribery Allegations

Commenting on bribery allegations against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Monday (16 October), Adani Group released a media statement on "the commission of an elaborate criminal conspiracy" reiterating its 9 October statement.

"Some groups have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing," said the release citing Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai's complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"The lawyer's complaint reveals that this arrangement to besmirch the reputation and interests of the Adani Group and our Chairman Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018," the release said.

The release talks about an arrangement between Mahua Moitra and Hiranandani Group CEO Darshan Hirnanadani, "for specifically targeting, inter alia, Gautam Adani and his group of companies through parliamentary questions."

The 9 October statement said, "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."

Calling these attacks "bound by the common objective of damaging the Adani group" and working according to a "playbook", the release expressed surprise over media reports appearing "just before the hearing dates of important cases".

The statement pointed out a Financial Times story with "baseless allegations" published on 12 October, "just a day before the hearing of an Adnai-related case to the Supreme Court.

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey made serious allegations against Moitra, claiming that she accepted "bribes" from a businessman to ask questions in the Parliament. Dubey has urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to initiate an "inquiry committee" to investigate these accusations.