Congress stages protest outside SBI office in Mumbai over Adani issue

Amid the ongoing Hindenburg-Adani row, the Congress party has hold protests from the Parliament to the streets on Monday (February 6). The party has decided to hold countrywide protests in front of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) offices and State Bank of India (SBI) branches. Although the Congress is getting the support of other Opposition parties on the Adani issue, it has to be seen whether the parties such as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), which are seen together in the meetings, will join the Congress demonstration or extend moral support.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) have kept their distance from the Congress on this issue. It is being argued by the Opposition that the investment of the Adani group in public sector banks such as the SBI and LIC has had a big impact on the savings of the middle class.Earlier on Friday, the Congress and 16 opposition parties demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) or Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Hindunberg report against the Adani Group, alleging a scam. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said that keeping in mind the public interest, the party wants an inquiry. There should also be daily reporting of the investigation on this issue, he said. A report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the Adani Group had weak business fundamentals, and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, among others. The report triggered a sell-off of shares of all Adani Group companies.