Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan inaugurates a
Raj Bhavan dharna by the Congress to protest against the hike in the price of cooking gas and also against the alleged Centre’s support to the Adani group, in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA
Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government of kowtowing to the interests of a few corporates at the expense of public welfare.
Inaugurating a United Democratic Front (UDF) march to the Raj Bhavan to highlight the “Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Adani” nexus, Mr. Satheesan said the Gujarat-based Adani Group’s assets had increased multi-fold, an estimated 120 per cent, within three years of the BJP assuming power at the Centre.
Mr. Modi jeopardised the life-savings of crores of ordinary Indians, a bulk of them retirees, by allowing LIC and SBI to invest disproportionately and without any financial guard rails in Adani investments and the business group’s “paper companies” based in offshore tax havens.
He said Mr. Modi unleashed Central agencies, including the Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate (ED), against investors opposed to hostile takeovers by Mr. Adani. Mr. Modi’s governance has enriched corporates and impoverished commoners.
The Prime Minister has shielded Adani Group and other corporate defaulters from revenue recovery proceedings. He has exposed LIC and SBI to the financial failings and shenanigans of pro-BJP business houses. Mr. Modi has allowed Mr. Adani to operate most oil refineries and sea and airports in the country.
The police blocked hundreds of Congress workers a distance away from Raj Bhavan. UDF convenor M. M. Hassan, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC organising general secretary T. U. Radhakrishnan, and DCC president Palode Ravi led the march.
