Gautam Adani owned Ambuja Cements Ltd has accquired a major stake in Sanghi cements on Thursday. Ambuja Cement, part of Adani Group, will buy 56.74 per cent stake in Sanghi Industries Ltd (SIL) from its existing promoter group – Ravi Sanghi and family.
Day after the deal was announced Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has been ‘handing over’ prized assets to the beleaguered billionaire, all while unleashing probe agencies on Adani Group’s competitors.
According to a report by Economic Times, the Income Tax Department had raided the offices of Shree Cement and revealed that they had Iseized documents indicating tax fraud to the tune of at least ₹23,000 crore.
Jairam Ramesh flagged ‘chronology’ of events in where he stated that India’s third-largest cement producer Shree Cement was reported to be in talks to acquire Sanghi Industries but exit the race after it was raided by the Income Tax department.
Federal investigative agencies have in recent times earned the reputation of being the PM Narendra Modi government’s go to weapon to quash anything is has not been in their favour. From raids on ministers who vehemently spoke against the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or on leaders and ministers who were in cabinets of non-BJP ruling states.
Taking to microblogging site X, formerly known as Twitter, Jairam Ramesh said, “In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for PM Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors.”.
“The latest episode is the chronology of the takeover of Sanghi Industries by the Adani-owned Ambuja Cements. Our statement on the rise of the Modi-Made Monopolies(3M).” Ramesh added.
Ramesh in his tweet alleged that probe agencies were being misused by the BJP government to “enrich” a select few crony capitalists. Ramesh said Sanghi’s unit in Sanghipuram, Gujarat, is India’s largest single-location cement and clinker plant.
The associated Sanghipuram Port will also further facilitate Adani’s ports monopoly, he alleged.
“What we are seeing is part of a longstanding pattern of misuse of investigative agencies to enrich the PM’s cronies. Agencies like the ED and CBI are not only being used to break apart opposition parties and bring down opposition-ruled governments, with 95% of investigations aimed against opposition leaders,” the Rajya Sabha MP said in a statement.
Ramesh said the party has every expectation that, as in previous cases, the promoters of Shree Cement will be “pressured” to deny that the raids affected their decision to withdraw from bidding.
Meanwhile, shares of Sanghi Industries on Thursday jumped 5 per cent after Ambuja Cements announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the cement manufacturer at an enterprise value of ₹5,000 crore.
The stock rallied 4.99 per cent to settle at ₹105.76 — its upper circuit limit — on the BSE.
The company added ₹130.06 crore, taking its market valuation to ₹2,732.06 crore.
Congress, especially leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mahua Moitra, has been raising several questions on the Adani issue ever since a US research firm Hindenburg came out with allegations of stock manipulation and financial irregularities against the Adani Group and demanded answers from the government.
The Adani Group denied all the allegations made in the Hindenburg report and claimed there had been no wrongdoing on its part.
The entire Budget session of Parliament was washed out over the Adani issue, with the opposition demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the entire issue.
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Updated: 05 Aug 2023, 05:03 PM IST