“What matters more is intent”: Jairam Ramesh ahead of G20 summit

New Delhi [India]: Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said that though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about bringing back unaccounted money in his first G20 Summit in 2014, the ‘Adani row’ reveals that “he failed to walk the talk.”

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s very first G20 Summit was in November 2014 in Brisbane. He waxed eloquent on tax havens and bringing back unaccounted money, and expressed strong support to all initiatives to facilitate the exchange of information and closer coordination with other economies,” Jairam Ramesh said in a post on ‘X’ on Wednesday.

However, citing a media report, the senior Congress leader said that six out of eight funds that had links to the Adani group and were allegedly moving money and manipulating stock prices on its behalf have been shut down.

“Words are fine but what matters more is intent and related actions. The latest in the Modani saga reveal that six out of eight funds—that had links to Adani group and that were allegedly moving money and manipulating stock price on its behalf—have been shut down,” Jairam Ramesh wrote.

The Congress Rajya Sabha MP said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country’s stock market regulator could have “accessed information regarding the ultimate beneficiaries of these entities”.

“Analysts believe that if SEBI had awoken from its inexplicable (Modi-made?) stupor and investigated these funds earlier, they may have accessed information regarding the ultimate beneficiaries of these entities,” the senior Congress MP claimed.

Calling for a Joint Parliamentary probe into the alleged Adani stock manipulations, Jairam Ramesh wrote, “Why did the Prime Minister allow this to happen? Only a JPC can answer that.”

Earlier in the day, Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress has decided to corner the Centre with nine issues ranging from the ‘Adani’ matter to ‘damages being inflicted on Centre-State relations’ during the upcoming Special Session of Parliament, scheduled for later this month.

Last week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that his government cannot make an enquiry on the Adani group as “the loss will not be for Adani but to someone else.”

“What is the reason that Narendra Modi ji is not doing an enquiry on Adani? India’s PM can’t make an inquiry on the Adani. Because after the inquiry the loss will not be for Adani but to someone else,” Rahul Gandhi had said in Raipur.