The Congress on Thursday said the mandate of the committee set up by the Supreme Court on the Adani-Hindenburg issue was limited to the violation of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) laws and and only a Joint Parliamentary Committee can make the government answerable. The party said it would continue its demand for a JPC when the Parliament reconvenes on March 13.
While the Rashtriya Janata Dal concurred with the need for a JPC, the Aam Aadmi Party termed the SC order “landmark”.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said if the Prime Minister and the government are to be held accountable, any committee other than the JPC would be nothing but an exercise in “legitimisation and exoneration”.
The Supreme Court committee is limited only to the investigation of violations of the SEBI laws and regulations, he added. “The truth of what has been the relationship between Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and [Gautam] Adani will never come to the fore if JPC is not formed,” he said.
“We have no expectations,” Mr. Ramesh said on the committee formed by the top court adding that the party was not confident that the truth in Adani issue would come out through it. “The real issue is the corporate-political nexus,” he said.
He said the Congress had been posing a set of three questions to the government on the Adani issue every day, but none had been answered yet.
The Congress, along with some other Opposition parties, has been demanding a JPC probe into the issue in Parliament.
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Overcome timidity
Praveen Chakravarty, chairman of Congress’s Data Analytics Department, said: “I am glad the SC has taken cognisance of the gravity of the Adani issue and appointed an expert committee. I sincerely hope experts such as Nandan Nilekani and K.V. Kamath are able to overcome their typical timidity and not be cowed down by the establishment to be diligent and transparent in their investigation. This is a matter of international concern and India’s credibility is at stake.”
Concurring with the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal said historically on issues which cover such a wide spectrum, a JPC has been more effective than an SC-appointed committee.
“The question is whether the [Supreme Court] committee will be able to completely remove the cloak covering their nexus with the government,” RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj K. Jha said.
‘Tight slap’
The Aam Aadmi Party, which is itself reeling under a spate of corruption allegations, welcomed the top court decision and said it was a “tight slap” on the Modi government.
“Truly landmark orders by Hon’ble SC on both EC and Adani issues. We welcome both the orders,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
AAP national spokesperson Sanjay Singh said: “This has proved that the Modi government is corrupt and useless.”
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