Adani Hindenburg row
On January 24, while the rest of India was busy preparing for Republic Day (January 26), a report by US-based short-seller firm Hindenburg Research shocked the nation. In the report, Hindenburg alleged that a man who was at that time the world’s third-richest, Gautam Adani, was pulling the largest con in corporate history.
The firm alleged that the Adani Group had been involved in brazen stock manipulation, money-laundering, and accounting fraud for decades. The report also highlighted that the stock valuations of seven listed companies of the group were 85% overvalued.
According to Hindenburg Research, a 106-page report was prepared over the course of two years, and it holds short positions in Adani Group of Companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives, along with other non-Indian-traded reference securities.
The report claims that these statements were supported by documents obtained from the Indian government and regulatory authorities. It appears the firm did a detailed investigation before taking a short position.
One of the main concerns raised in the report is the issue of corporate governance at Adani Group. According to the report, members of the Adani family created and oversaw “a massive labyrinth of offshore shell firms” in tax-haven nations like Cyprus, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates with, Hindenburg alleged, no reported employees, independent addresses, phone numbers, or online presence.
Despite this, they have collectively moved billions of dollars into Indian Adani publicly listed and private entities, often without required disclosure of the related party nature of the deals.
Gautam Adani’s brothers Vinod and Rajesh, as well as his brother-in-law Samir Vora, are among those listed in the report for various reasons. The report further states that Vinod Adani and his close allies were purportedly in control of 38 shell firms situated in Mauritius, and he was also “covertly controlling” additional businesses in Cyprus, the UAE, Singapore, and several Caribbean islands. In the report, Hindenburg asked 86 questions to the Adani Group. On January 29, Adani Group issued a 413-page response alleging that Hindenburg had made misleading claims and that this was not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity, and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India. Adani Group hoped that such a nationalistic statement would put all allegations at rest. On the contrary, Adani shares have seen the worst decline in their lifetime.
A day after Hindenburg released its report, Adani Group entities lost about US$9 billion in the stock market, and the losses have continued. Despite rapid sell-offs, Adani Enterprises gave the go-ahead for a $2.5 billion follow-on public offer on January 27. However, the FPO was not received well in the market. Adani Enterprises said it would refund the FPO’s proceeds.
In 2017, the Modi government introduced an electoral bonds scheme to cleanse political funding in India. The central idea behind the scheme was to bring about transparency in electoral funding in India. It allowed political parties to accept money from donors whose identities were kept anonymous if the donation was below 20,000 rupees (US$240).
The political parties receive electoral bonds issued by the public or corporations. The State Bank of India, India’s largest public-sector bank, is the solely authorized to sell and redeem the bonds. The scheme has been challenged on the ground that it lacks transparency. Critics argue that the anonymity of electoral bonds is only for the broader public and opposition parties.
On the national level, of all electoral bonds purchased since 2017-18, the BJP received two-thirds of the total, or 65% nationally.
According to a report by the Election Commission in 2021, the BJP reported the highest corporate donations for the seventh year in a row. Certainly, there is a conflict of interest. If Modi acts against the corporates, their party donations are likely to decrease. But if no action is taken on corporate misconduct, the party will likely receive better donations. In this way, it will be a win-win situation for both the corporates and BJP, but at the expense of the hard-earned savings and investments of the general public.
Wrestlers’ allegations against Brij Bhushan
Following the sexual harassment allegations against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and BJP MP, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs based on complaints by six wrestlers.
Allegations by Wrestlers: Wrestlers allege instances of sexual harassment, inappropriate behaviour, groping, stalking, and intimidation allegedly by Singh, according to PTI.
Charges under IPC and POCSO Act: Singh has been charged under sections of the IPC, including assaulting a woman to outrage her modesty (Section 354), sexual harassment (354 A), and stalking (354 D). The FIR filed by the father of a wrestler who is a minor invokes the POCSO Act, the PTI reported.
Promises of Professional Support: Some wrestlers have alleged that Singh allegedly made advances, promising to help them in their careers.
Denial of Charges: Brij Bhushan Singh has denied all the allegations and had recently said that ‘he would hang himself if any accusation is proven against him’. He asserted his care for the wrestlers and emphasised his contributions to their success.
WFI Secretary’s name in the case: The FIR filed by the wrestlers also reportedly includes the name of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secretary Vinod Tomar.
Specific Incidents: A complainant described an incident where the ‘victim’ was allegedly called separately, and was harassed, reported the PTI.
‘Harassed’ during team photograph: Another wrestler complainant alleged that she was harassed while a team photograph was being clicked, according to the PTI.
Offered to buy supplements: A wrestler claimed that Singh allegedly offered to buy her supplements in exchange for sexual favors, the FIR said, according to PTI report on Friday.
Domestic and International Incidents: The allegations involve incidents occurring during championship events, at the WFI office, and at locations in India and abroad, according to the FIR.
BJP’s attempts to topple non- BJP governments
Operation Lotus refers to “poaching” or “bribing” of MLAs and MPs of other parties by the BJP, mainly of their rival the Indian National Congress party (INC), often to form government in states where they do not have the majority.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that “BJP has spent Rs 6,500 crore [65 billion] rupees on buying 277 MLAs, they also tried to buy Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MLAs in Delhi, and they offered 20 crores to each. They brought Rs 800 crores to buy MLAs of Delhi.” Kejriwal conducted a floor test in the Delhi Assembly to prove that his government continued to have the majority in the assembly and BJP’s alleged Operation Lotus in Delhi had failed to poach AAP MLAs. CM successfully proved his majority in the legislature.
The tactic has ‘worked’ in the past, but it has also come back to haunt the BJP in states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
In the Karnataka elections, where the Congress emerged victorious, ‘Operation Lotus’ seems to have played a direct role in the BJP’s diminished tally of seats— down from 103 in the 2018 assembly polls to just 66 in 2023.
In 2019, the BJP brought down the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government on the back of ‘Operation Lotus’, which saw 17 of the coalition’s MLAs jumping ship to the party.
In a short span of one year, the BJP carried out ‘Operation Lotus’ twice in Maharashtra, splitting two mainstream regional parties, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar.
While some have raised questions on ethics, many argue, “Everything is fair in love, war — and politics.”
The BJP, which is the single-largest party in Maharashtra with 105 seats out of 288, has often adopted newer strategies to consolidate its organisational base to drive electoral success. In that context, exploiting the unrest within the regional parties to its political advantage was a well-scripted strategy. It was undertaken in both cases with adequate consultation of the central BJP leadership.
In 2014, under then state BJP president Devendra Fadnavis, it emerged number one bagging 122 seats out of 288. The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition was formed with Fadnavis as CM. Five years later in 2019, the BJP won 105 seats. But its alliance partner Shiv Sena (then undivided) decided to join hands with the Congress-NCP.
The BJP termed this an “act of betrayal”. After two-and-a-half years, it engineered the split in Thackeray’s party through ‘Operation Lotus’. It was to avenge betrayal and teach Thackeray a lesson. With 40 Sena rebels along with 10 Independents on its side, the BJP dislodged the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). With Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis as his deputy, it has given the state a stable government.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena and the BJP have pledged to work together and contest as alliance partners. Thus, the question comes, what was the necessity to split the NCP and get it to join government.
According to state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, “The BJP believes in political expansion. If anybody wants to join us we welcome it. Ajit Pawar is a very able leader both as a politician and as an administrator. If he along with his MLAs wanted to join the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition it is an endorsement of PM Narendra Modi’s leadership and good governance.”
Rahul’s conviction and subsequent developments
On August 7th Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s main opposition party, Congress, reclaimed his seat in parliament after the Supreme Court suspended his controversial conviction for defamation. Gandhi’s return to the fray, ahead of a general election due next May, looks like a vindication for the many who considered his conviction to have been a political stitch-up orchestrated by supporters of Narendra Modi. It has also increased a spurt of momentum behind the prime minister’s opponents, who recently clubbed together to form an anti-Modi alliance.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (india), which includes Congress and most other opposition parties, appears to have put Mr Modi on the back foot, a rare occurrence, over his party’s handling of ethnic violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur. Though Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is still likely to win re-election next year, handing the prime minister a third term, a resuscitated opposition could make the election more interesting—and the future of Indian democracy appear more robust.
Sectarian violence in Haryana
The 2023 Haryana riots are a series of ongoing clashes in northern India that originated in the state of Haryana and have subsequently spread to nearby regions. On 31 July 2023, communal violence erupted in the Nuh district of Haryana between Muslims and Hindus during an annual Brajmandal Yatra pilgrimage organised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu nationalist organization. By the evening of the same day, fresh incidents of communal violence were reported from Gurugram and Sohna. As of 3 August 2023, the situation has resulted in at least seven fatalities and over 200 reported injuries. The violence started during the annual Brajmandal Yatra pilgrimage through the Muslim-majority district of Nuh; the Muslim community was angered when it was announced that the procession would include Bajrang Dal activist and cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who is wanted by the police as a suspect in the murder of two Muslim men, Nasir and Junaid, though the man did not show up at the procession. Upon hearing that Monu Manesar was attending a religious procession, the local Muslim community organized an attack on the procession, and from 21 July to 23 July met to “lay out a plan to attack the yatra”. They executed their attack on the procession on 31 July, pelting it with stones, bottles, and incidiary weapons. This triggered retaliatory actions from the Hindu procession participants. The Hindus taking part in the procession were forced to flee to a nearby temple, which was then besieged by rioters armed with guns, who fired upon the temple.The police believe this attack was premeditated and well-organized.
In response, the government imposed a curfew, suspended Internet services, and sent extra troops to the region to prevent a further outbreak of violence. Calm and order were said to have been restored on 8 August 2023.
The game of defections – Maharashtra
In a surprising turn of events in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar changed his allegiance on July 2, 2023, and joined the Maharashtra Government led by Eknath Shinde.
While Ajit was sworn in as Deputy CM, eight other heavyweights of NCP were also sworn in as ministers, who have been close aides to his uncle and NCP President Sharad Pawar. These leaders include Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Musharif, Dhananjay Mundhe, and Aditi Tatkare. Ajit claims to have the support of 43 of the 53 NCP MLAs. Ajit is now the second Deputy CM of Maharashtra, with Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the other.
This is the second tripartite government in Maharashtra, with the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, and the NCP sharing governance. The first was formed in 2019 when Sharad Pawar stitched the coalition of the unified Sena, Congress, and NCP. It was known was the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. In 2022, Shinde’s rebellion against the then-CM Uddhav Thackeray brought down the MVA government. Aided by the BJP, Shinde defected with 40 of the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs and eight of the 13 MPs to form government with the BJP. A year later, Ajit has followed in Shinde’s footsteps and effected a split in the NCP by defecting with 43 MLAs of the party. This is the third time since the Assembly elections of 2019 that he has taken charge as the Deputy Chief Minister. The BJP has been on a poaching prowl to break up the NCP and Congress after its success with Shiv Sena where it decimated the party, effected a defection, and brought down a stable government. Following the NCP split, the BJP has trained its guns on the disgruntled leaders of Congress Party.
Manipur violence
On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki tribal community from the surrounding hills. As of 29 July, 181 people have been killed in the violence. More than 300 wounded,and approximately 54,488 displaced.
On 14 April 2023, acting on a writ petition by the Metei Tribe Union that demands the Scheduled Tribe status for the valley-based Meitei community, the Manipur High Court ordered the state government to send a recommendation to the central government,[32] a decision later criticised by the Supreme Court. To protest the High Court order, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur called for a peaceful protest to be conducted on 3 May. After one of these rallies, clashes between Kuki and Meitei groups began near the border between the Churachandpur district and Bishnupur district, followed by house burning. For example, the Kuki people, who predominantly reside in the hill regions surrounding the capital valley, have been viewed as being the target of the present state government’s treatment of indigenous land rights concerns. A majority of the Kuki people are Christian. There have been evictions in Kuki communities as a result of efforts to survey forests, which were ostensibly made to stop the cultivation of poppies.