Adani storm hits Parliament as stock meltdown continues

NEW DELHI: Opposition lawmakers on Thursday disrupted both houses of Parliament as they demanded an investigation into allegations of fraud against the Adani Group under the supervision of the Supreme Court or by a joint parliamentary committee, while the market woes of one of India's biggest conglomerates deepened, with the group losing more than $100bn, or ₹8.76 lakh crore, in value in six days.

The developments came a day after Adani abruptly abandoned its 20,000-crore follow-on stock offering in a late-night statement, hours after its flagship Adani Enterprises lost a staggering 28% in value over a single session.

Shares of Adani Enterprises tumbled a further 26% on Thursday, and other group firms also took a beating, with many hitting their circuit breakers.

Opposition MPs raised the matter in both houses. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said an investigation should cover the manner "in which government-owned companies are forced to invest in firms".

"All the parties together, we have taken a stand that this wastage of LIC's money and of money taken as loan from SBI and possibly many other such financial institutions where the hard-earned money of the common ban has been deposited, be investigated either by a joint parliamentary committee or a probe under the Supreme Court with  day-to-day updates," he said, adding that the objective was not to targeting anyone personally.

The mayhem in Adani stocks was precipitated by a report by an American activist investor group Hindenburg Research, which accused the conglomerate of improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation, while also raising concerns over high debt levels. The conglomerate has denied the accusations, saying the short-seller's allegation of stock manipulation has "no basis" and stems from an ignorance of Indian law.

In a video address on Thursday, Gautam Adani said the decision to scrap the share offering was made "to insulate the investors from potential losses." "For me, the interest of my investors is paramount and everything else is secondary," he said.