NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has intensified his criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, linking the PM’s silence over US President Donald Trump’s recent tariff threats to an ongoing American investigation into the Adani Group.
Gandhi’s remarks came after Trump said India has not been a good trading partner and announced that he will raise the tariffs on New Delhi “very substantially” over the next 24 hours because it is buying Russian oil.
In a post on X, Gandhi wrote, “India, please understand: The reason PM Modi cannot stand up to President Trump despite his repeated threats is ongoing US investigation into Adani. One threat is to expose financial links between Modi, Adani, and Russian oil deals. Modi’s hands are tied,” Gandhi wrote.
Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders have long accused the Modi government of favouring Gautam Adani, pointing to a series of policy decisions and state support that have allegedly helped the Adani Group expand its influence across key sectors. Photographs of Modi and Adani together during official foreign visits have further fueled allegations of cronyism.
The US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the Adani Group under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The probe, which began in 2024, focuses on whether the conglomerate used offshore shell companies to manipulate stock prices, launder funds, and evade taxes.
These investigations gained momentum after a 2023 report by US-based Hindenburg Research accused Adani of orchestrating one of the largest corporate frauds in history.
Trump recently reignited the tariff debate, saying that India is buying discounted Russian oil and reselling it at a profit on the global market. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then selling it on the open market for big profits. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the USA,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social.
Recently, at a press conference, Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of making foreign policy decisions that serve private business interests rather than national welfare. He said the government must come clean about the nature of its relationship with the Adani Group. “The real question is: who does Modi work for? The nation, or his corporate friends?” Gandhi asked.
