The Congress has announced block-level agitations across the country against the ruling government in light of the Adani-Hindenburg row. The party has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the allegations against Adani Group.
According to the posters shared on Twitter, the party is planning to hold rallies in state capitals in April.
The Adani Group's stocks had taken a beating on the bourses after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against it. The group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said the party has decided to intensify its agitation and take the issue directly to the people. The party has directed all Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) to arrange press conferences in all districts which will be addressed by senior state leaders, and subsequently, all state units will organise the agitational activities at various levels, Venugopal said.
Moreover, block-level agitations will be organised in front of offices of public banks and LIC between March 6 and 10 all over the country, the statement said. Terming them as 'Pardafash (expose) rallies', the party will organise them at all the district headquarters in March. A massive 'Chalo Raj Bhavan' march will also be organised in state headquarters on March 13, the day Parliament will reconvene for the second part of the Budget Session.
All the state-level senior leaders, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other elected representatives, leaders of frontal organisations, departments and cells, and party workers have been asked to participate in all of these agitational programmes, Venugopal said.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh questioned PM Narendra Modi regarding the fall in the value of LIC's holdings in the Adani Group. “It is now worth Rs 32,000 crore and the entire profit made by the LIC and its crores of policyholders, which we now know was due to stock market manipulation and money laundering, has been wiped out and caused a major loss for LIC,” Ramesh alleged as part of the opposition party's 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun' posers for the prime minister posted daily on Twitter.
Previous rallies
Early this month, leaders of 16 opposition parties held a protest in Parliament premises demanding a JPC probe into the matter. Among the parties that participated in the meeting held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge were the Congress, DMK, NCP, BRS, JDU, SP, CPM, CPI, JMM, RLD, RSP, AAP, IUML, RJD and Shiv Sena.
They alleged that the recent meltdown in Adani Group shares is a scam that involves common people's money as public sector LIC and SBI have invested in them.
(With PTI inputs)
