NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party said it had no reason to defend billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday following his US indictment over alleged bribery to secure power deals in India.

The main opposition Congress party has accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and stonewalling independent investigations into his dealings in the country, charges the ruling party has denied. Congress workers have also held street protests demanding a parliamentary probe.

US prosecutors have charged Adani, the ports-to-power group’s founder, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply deals across five Indian regions.

The group has denied the charges, calling them “baseless” and adding that it would “seek all possible legal recourse”.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024