Indictment row: Rahul demands Adani’s arrest, accuses govt of protecting him

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 27 November, said businessman Gautam Adani should be arrested after his indictment in the US and accused the government of protecting him.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi — who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha — asked when hundreds of people are arrested on "tiny" charges in the country, why Adani is not in jail?

This isn't the first time.

However, the reiteration by Gandhi comes hours after the Adani Group said the billionaire and his nephew Sagar Adani have not been charged with any violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment filed by US authorities in a court in a bribery case.

(There's no reason they should be, of course, since the FCPA does not apply to foreign nationals acting within foreign companies — in this case, Indian citizens acting for an Indian business group. It does not mean there isn't a case against them; merely that it is not in the US jurisdiction but in the Indian one.)

The duo have, however, been charged with securities fraud that involves levy of monetary penalties.

"You think the Adanis are going to accept the charges? Which world are you living in? Obviously, he is going to deny the charges," Gandhi said when asked about the denial of charges by the Adani Group.

"The point is he has to be arrested. As we have said, hundreds of people are being arrested on tiny charges and the gentleman has been indicted in the United States for thousands of crores. He should be in jail... The government is protecting him," the former Congress chief said.

Gandhi was the first to demand the arrest of Adani after charges of alleged bribery were made out by the US against the businessman.

Earlier, Adani's lawyer Mukul Rohtagi said there are no specific charges against the businessman or his associates and the accusations of bribery are very general and no specifics on who gave the bribe to whom are not specified.

Meanwhile, today's Lok Sabha session has been adjourned for the day with several Opposition leaders calling out loud for discussion on the Sambhal violence and the Adani case, refusing to take their seats until they were heard.

With PTI inputs