Playing on the G-20 slogan ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, the Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead believes in “One Man, One Government, One Business Group” and claimed that he has facilitated the creation of “Modi-made Monopolies” for his close friend and industrialist Gautam Adani.
Recalling PM Modi’s past statements at the G-20 summits, in a statement here, Congress General Secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh said, “The PM’s brazenness would be laughable if his complicity in high-level corruption and economic offences were not so serious. The PM has not simply facilitated the creation of Modi-made Monopolies (3M) for his close friends the Adanis in critical sectors like ports, airports, power and roads using all the tools at his disposal. He has systematically blocked all investigations into Adani’s wrongdoing by agencies as varied as SEBI, CBI, ED, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, ensuring that tax havens are safe for his close friends and that they continue to enjoy the protection of excessive banking secrecy and complex international regulations.”
Hindenburg Research | With an eye for fraud
Mr. Ramesh quoted Mr. Modi’s statements from the 2014 Brisbane G-20 meeting where he called for global cooperation “to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders”, to “track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers” and to “break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds”. At the 2018 Buenos Aires G-20 summit, the PM presented a nine-point agenda “for action against fugitive economic offences and asset recovery”.
“The revelation that at least two opaque funds that are alleged to have done round-tripping, money-laundering and to have violated securities laws are directly connected to Adani is the most recent example of how enfeebled agencies have been made subservient to the Adanis’ and the PM’s corporate interests,” he added.
The PM’s “nine-point agenda”, Mr. Ramesh said, was equally laughable given the ease with which the BJP permitted economic offenders like Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Mehul ‘Bhai’ Choksi and Vijay Mallya to flee the country. “The government itself has admitted that it has been able to bring back only two of 72 major economic offenders in recent years,” Mr. Ramesh stated.
He also criticised the government for covering up or demolishing slums, rendering thousands homeless and cruelly rounding up the stray animals. He said these steps were taken only to “burnish the PM’s image”.
“The G-20 slogan is ‘One Earth One Family One Future’. However, the PM seems to actually believe in ‘One Man, One Government, One Business Group,’ he said.
