Quoting old evidence, the Congress has launched a fresh attack on the Adani Group’s alleged China links and asked why the government is making an exception for it, allowing it to operate the ports in India, against its own policy to prevent Chinese firms and entities with Chinese connections from operating ports and terminals in India.
In a statement, party general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh cited a June 2022 news report on security clearance denied to a consortium of APM Terminals Management and Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines, after agencies discovered a connection between a Wan Hai director and a Chinese firm. This blocked the consortium’s bid to operate a container handling terminal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority.
Drawing a parallel between the news report, Mr. Ramesh flagged Chinese national Chang Chung-Ling’s close association with the Adani Group. Mr. Chang’s son, Mr. Ramesh said, owns PMC projects, a firm that has constructed ports, terminals, rail lines, power lines and other infrastructure assets for the Adani Group. “The Adani Group and PMC were alleged to be involved in a ₹5,500-crore power equipment over-invoicing scam by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,” he claimed.
Mr. Ramesh also said the Adani Group had been known to have operated at least two Shanghai-based shipping companies, one of which was involved in the “illegal sale of petroleum products to the close China ally, North Korea”.
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‘Security implications’
In this backdrop, he questioned, “Given these close China links, why is the Adani Group being permitted to operate ports in India, Why is it being permitted to buy up port after port, in some cases after raids on previous owners, with no thought to the serious security implications?”
The Congress’s attempt is to sustain the campaign against the Narendra Modi government for allegedly extending undue benefit to the Adani Group, especially in the face of divergent voices within the Opposition. NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar on Friday, in a television interview, had raised doubts about the U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research group, whose report on alleged malpractices by the Adani Group led to a complete washout of the budget session of Parliament. He said the report was given “out of proportion” importance.
