Fresh revelations in Adani issue indicate over Rs 12,000 cr may have been siphoned off: Congress

The Congress on Friday alleged that fresh revelations in the Adani issue by a foreign publication indicate that "more than Rs 12,000 crore may have been siphoned out of the country in two years".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a statement, dubbed it the "biggest scam" of modern India. He claimed that this was "not a metaphorical loot" but "literally theft" from the pockets of crores of Indians.

He also accused the ruling BJP government of "helping" the Adani group acquire assets and "the BJP is kept flush with electoral bond funds which allows it to buy MLAs at will and break opposition parties".

There was no immediate reaction available from the Adani group on the allegations.

"This is the biggest scam of modern India. It combines greed and heartlessness with a cold contempt for the people of India. It is based on the conviction that there is no scam that cannot be 'managed' and that there is no issue that cannot be diverted from.

"But the Shahenshah is mistaken. India will not be captured by Modani. The people of India will answer in 2024," Ramesh said in his statement.

He said the latest revelations in the Financial Times newspaper which studied 30 Adani coal shipments between 2019 and 2021 amounting to 3.1 million tonnes, found a 52 per cent profit margin even in a low-margin business like coal trading.