The Adani issue has certainly achieved one thing, which is to unite the entire opposition. This is something even Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatra could not do as many senior Opposition leaders stayed away from the marathon walk. But the Hindenburg report and its aftermath saw all the Opposition leaders gather in Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s room in Parliament to discuss Opposition strategy. Each party was clear that the government should be confronted about its perceived links with Gautam Adani. There was some division on the means to this end, some parties like the Congress wanted a JPC. Others like the Left and AAP wanted a Supreme Court monitored probe; but each agreed that given the reaction of the markets to the Hindenburg report, there should be some sort of a senior level probe. The former Congress President, Rahul Gandhi, clearly sees this as the Modi government’s Bofors moment.
The slight on his father, the late Rajiv Gandhi, still rankles. Rahul had raised allegations of corruption against the Modi government on the Rafale deal with the “Chowkidar Chor Hai” slogan during the last Lok Sabha polls, but this did not work, simply because the PM’s own credibility with the voter is teflon coated. However, now with businessman Gautam Adani coming under the scanner, the Congress sees another chance. It has already begun raising slogans that this government is run by “Adani ke Chowkidar”. In his reply to the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha, Rahul preferred to speak about the Hindenburg report and narrated instances and examples to show how the Modi government had favoured this particular businessman from Gujarat. This had the treasury benches protesting and waving rule books, while the Speaker asked the Congress leader to stay on script and talk about the President’s Address but nothing stopped Rahul.
This was his moment and it was both personal and political. As a senior Congress leader pointed out, not only has Rahul been “vilified” by the current BJP, but his father too was at the receiving end of allegations in the Bofors gun deal that were later on struck down by the courts. So, for Rahul this was personal. Neither the PM nor the Home Minister were present in the House when Rahul spoke, leaving the government’s defence to law minister Kirren Rijiju (who is fast emerging as a key troubleshooter for the government), and others like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Arjun Meghwal and Nishikant Dubey. It would be interesting to hear the PM’s reply on the President’s Address and also whether he will address the allegations raised by Rahul Gandhi or not. For now, the BJP and the government’s stance is to let SEBI do an investigation into the allegations raised by the Hindenburg report. However, will that be enough for damage control or will the PM himself address this issue? Even a positive Budget could not distract the headlines from the fortunes of the Adani group. But if there is anyone who can turn the narrative around, it is the PM himself. Though as a footnote, there has been a correction of sorts in the market with almost all of Adani shares gaining ground in the last two days, though they are nowhere near the pre-Hindenburg levels.