NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday defe­nded his record in the wake of criticism of his close association with ty­­coon Gautam Adani, who­se business empire has been rocked by corporate fraud allegations.

Mr Modi was speaking a day after Rahul Gandhi of the opposition Congress party told the legislature that Adani’s close ties with Modi had led to “tremendous growth and expansion of his businesses”.

Political opponents acc­u­se Mr Modi of abetting Adani’s rapid rise, allowing the billionaire to unfairly win contracts and avoid proper regulatory oversight.

Mr Modi avoided addre­ssing the cloud over Adani Group but said in parliament that the people of India trusted that his government acted with integrity.

“People know Modi has come to their help in times of crisis, how will they agree with your abuses and allegations?” Mr Modi said.

“The trust of millions of people is my protective shield, it can’t be breached by your abuses and allegations,” he added.

Parliament has been adjourned several times in recent days with opposition parties calling for a probe into Modi and Adani’s links.

Investors wiped out around $120 billion in value from Adani Group after claims of accounting fraud by short-seller US investment group Hinden­burg Research last month. Hindenburg accused the Indian tycoon of a “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” in “the largest con in corporate history”.

Adani artificially boo­sted the share prices of its units by funnelling money into the stocks through offshore tax havens, the investment group said.But last week, Mr Adani insisted the “fundamentals of our company are very strong, our balance sheet is healthy and assets robust” in an attempt to dispel concerns over the conglomerate’s debt pile.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2023