Stock manipulation in past probed by JPCs, why is govt stubbornly refusing now: Cong

PTI, Feb 13, 2023, 8:02 PM IST

Representative Image (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked the government why it was “stubbornly refusing” to order a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Hindenburg report on the Adani group when earlier too stock market manipulations had been probed by JPCs.

Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi feared being “personally implicated” by a truly independent investigation.

Posing a set of three questions to the prime minister as part of the “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun” series, he tweeted, “Does he think we had run out of questions for him, on this ‘maha mega scam’ he facilitated and that took place under his nose with his eyes wide open”.

The Congress leader said both Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments have in the past agreed to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate large-scale cases of stock market manipulation.

In 1992, he said, a JPC was set up to look into the Harshad Mehta case while in 2001 a JPC investigated the Ketan Parekh case. Both Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime ministers had the confidence and trust in elected representatives to investigate scams that affected crores of Indian investors.

“What are you afraid of? Do you fear that a truly independent investigation might implicate you personally in the Adani Group’s wrongdoings,” Ramesh asked.

He also alleged that “the government is turning a blind eye to fresh collusion between (stockbroker Ketan) Parekh and the Adani Group”.

Ramesh claimed a 2007 SEBI ruling following an investigation into excessive volatility in the shares of Adani Exports (now known as Adani Enterprises) between 1999 and 2001 had found that entities associated with Ketan Parekh had indulged in “manipulative activities such as synchronised trading/circular trading and creation of artificial volume to influence the price in the scrip of Adani”.

This bears a disturbing resemblance to the current allegations against the Adani Group, he claimed.

“Why did SEBI tolerate an even more extreme rise in Adani Group stock prices after 2020 without investigating it with the required seriousness,” he asked.

The Hindenburg report has alleged financial irregularities and stock manipulation in stocks of Adani group companies and the Opposition has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the issue. The Adani group has dismissed the allegations as baseless.

The Opposition has stalled proceedings in both houses of parliament to press their demand for a JPC probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue.