The Congress on Tuesday said the Adani group was trying to shield itself using the Tricolour and asked why the Narendra Modi government was shying away from ordering a joint parliamentary committee investigation into allegations against the conglomerate, as demanded by the united Opposition, if it had nothing to hide.

“There was a hit Hindi film song — ‘Badan pe sitare lapete huye’ — Now Adani is trying to protect himself by wrapping the Tricolour around his group. This will not be allowed,” Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said.

A video released on YouTube projects Gautam Adani as India’s pride and suggests that he is being targeted by enemies of the country.

“Bharat ki soch Adani, Bharat ki shaan Adani… Toofano se tu na darta tera naam Adani,” the song goes.

The Congress said the Adani issue was about corruption and misuse of government power and abdication of responsibility by regulatory bodies, and not about nationalism or supporting the private sector.

Ramesh said: “The Congress believes private investments are essential to propel robust growth. We are also for support to our industries and entrepreneurs. Business is a must to create new jobs. We support economic liberalisation. But we are opposed to reckless, blind privatisation. We don’t support selling profit-making national assets to crony capitalists.”

The joint Opposition is agitated about crony capitalism, it said. “Modi sold national assets to Adani and helped him create a monopoly in every sector. Amit Shah says the government has nothing to hide in the Adani affair. If that’s true, why is JPC (joint parliamentary committee) not allowed? Why are we not allowed to speak in Parliament? Why are our observations expunged? Investigation should be directed at Adani’s wrongdoings. The government wants to investigate Hindenburg,” Ramesh said.

Hindenburg is the US-based investment research firm whose allegation of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by the Adani group has sent the conglomerate’s share prices crashing.

The Congress also asked the day’s three questions in the HAHK (Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun) series, focusing on alleged misuse of foreign policy and bending of rules by the Prime Minister for his corporate cronies.

Ramesh said: “In its efforts to strengthen economic relations with our neighbours, the UPA government had signed an MoU in 2010 for the state-owned NTPC to set up a 1,320MW thermal power plant in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. After coming to power, you decided to help your ‘Double A’ friends instead and, during your June 6, 2015, visit to Dhaka, it was announced that Adani Power and Reliance Power would construct thermal power plants to supply electricity to Bangladesh.

“Is it true that you put pressure on your counterpart Sheikh Hasina to accept terms that were extremely favourable to Adani Power and unfavourable to Bangladesh, and that the cost of electricity supplied to Bangladesh from Adani’s Godda (Jharkhand) power plant is much higher than what its own thermal plants supply? Does enriching your friends at the expense of neighbouring countries further India’s foreign policy interests?”

To support his charge of bending of rules, Ramesh said: “Jharkhand originally required 25 per cent of the electricity produced by a power plant to be supplied to the state at discounted rates. This was reflected in its initial February 2016 agreement with Adani Power. However, in October 2016, the policy was abruptly amended to benefit Adani. Is it correct that these revised terms will cost Jharkhand an additional Rs 7,410 crore over the 25-year lifetime of the project according to a government audit report? Did the office of the state accountant-general state in writing on May 12, 2017, that the agreement with Adani amounted to ‘preferential treatment’ and would give the company ‘undue benefits’? What was your role in persuading then Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das to reverse this longstanding state government policy?”

The third question Ramesh asked was: “In February 2018,Adani Power had applied to setup the Godda power plant as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to avail of tax benefits. However, the ministry of commerce denied this request because it conflicted with guidelines that prohibited the establishment of a standalone power plant inside an SEZ. Yet on January 9,2019, the ministry of commerce changed its view and amended those guidelines. Shortly thereafter, on February 25, 2019, the Board of Approval for SEZs approved Adani Power’s application. What was the role of the Prime Minister’s Office in this policy change that benefitted Adani Power to the tune of Rs300 crore per year via the elimination of coal import duties?”

Ramesh wrote to the Sebi (Securities & Exchange Board of India) chief and the RBI governor on Tuesday, demanding a fair probe into the Adani affairs instead of surrendering to the government’s pressures. He also said the Congress would hold media conferences at 30 places across the country to create awareness among the people about what actually had happened.