On ‘bribe for question’ allegation against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Adani Group says charges ‘corroborate our claim’
The Adani Group on Monday expressed shock after a Supreme Court lawyer filed complaint.
With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) shedding light on an ‘elaborate criminal conspiracy’ by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ‘specifically targetting Gautam Adani’ through parliamentary questions.
The Group, in a statemnt, claimed that the charges corroborate with its earlier statement that ‘some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing’.
“The development corroborates our statement on 9 October, 2023 that some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing. In this particular case, a 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 Group’s spokesperson said.
The Group’s fresh statement came amid ongoing tussle between TMC and Bharatiya Janata Party after an MP from the latter party levelled massive allegations against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra that she took cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ‘ask question(s) in Parliament’. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking an inquiry against Mahua Moitra and her immediate suspension from the house for taking cash for question.
In her response, Moitra said the CBI is welcome to investigate ‘right after they finish investigating Adani’s offshore money trail, over-invoicing, benami account’. The Hiranandani Group, the real-estate conglomerate of the businessman, of the concerned businessman denied allegations of bribing the TMC MP.
The complaint by SC lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai pointed out that Moitra received bribes and ‘undue favours’ from Hiranandani, the Group said, acknowledging Dubey’s charges against the TMC MP. “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 Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Dubey has written to Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishaw and Union minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar seeking an investigation linked to the allegations and asked to probe whether Moitra had given access to her login credentials for the Lok Sabha website to Hiranandani to ‘utilise it for their own personal gain’.
Dubey added that if the claims are found to be true, it ‘constitutes a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India’s national security’.