Hindenburg Report: Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad launched an attack on the Congress Party at a charged press conference in Delhi, alleging that it was indulging in conspiracy against the interest of the country by colluding with foreign interests to destabilize the Indian economy. BJP‘s allegations have come at a time when a new report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research brought renewed scrutiny to Adani Group and raised issues of conflict of interest involving SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
Congress Colludes with Foreign Investors
He said that Congress was in collusion with foreign investors, amongst whom was George Soros, whom he claimed is a major investor of Hindenburg Research. Known for his unfriendly stand to policies of India, Prasad tried linking him to the entire scheme of crashing the Indian Stock market. “Today we want to raise some issues. Whose investment is there in Hindenburg? Do you know this gentleman George Soros, who regularly runs the propaganda against India? He happens to be the primary investor there,” Prasad said.
Prasad alleged that the Congress has “pathological hatred” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, by association, against India. This hatred, he claimed, can have a negative impact on the country’s stock market and small investors. “There are basically two toolkits in the politics of the Congress party, one is toolkit politics and the other is chit politics. They want to crash the entire stock market, stop the capital investment of small investors, and ensure that there should be no economic investment in India,” he added.
Hindenburg Report Sparks BJP-Congress Conflict
The BJP’s statements are in direct response to the latest Hindenburg report, which accused SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch of holding hidden stakes in offshore funds connected to the Adani Group. Hindenburg suggested it might explain SEBI’s purported inaction regarding the Adani Group’s alleged financial misconduct.
Both Madhabi Buch and her husband have denied these accusations, referring to it as an act of “character assassination.” Following the allegations, Congress has called for a JPC probe into the allegations, with Rahul Gandhi coming out to demand immediate action and question why Buch has not resigned. “The integrity of SEBI, the securities regulator entrusted with safeguarding the wealth of small retail investors, has been gravely compromised by the allegations against its Chairperson,” Gandhi said.
BJP Dismisses Congress’s JPC Demand as ‘Sham’
The BJP rejected as a “sham” that of the Congress for a JPC and accused the Opposition of seeking to weaken India’s financial markets and distressing investors. Calling the JPC demand a sham, Prasad said, “Their intention is that a JPC probe goes on and the country’s economy gets weaker, share markets tumble, and small investors are bothered.”.
The fight between the BJP and the Congress represents both the political and economic high stakes involved in the SEBI-Adani Group controversy—involving instances where both parties seek to protect national interests in front of growing public concerns.
