New Delhi, August 6: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s muted response to U.S. trade aggression under Donald Trump may be due to an ongoing American investigation into the Adani Group’s financial dealings.
In a sharp post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi said, “One threat is to expose the financial links between Modi, AA (Adani), and Russian oil deals. Modi’s hands are tied.” The comment follows Trump’s recent move to impose a sweeping 25% tariff on all Indian goods and threaten further penalties over India’s continued oil imports from Russia.
Rahul Gandhi suggested that Modi’s reluctance to challenge Trump stems from the U.S. investigation into billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Modi’s closest allies, and his group’s dealings involving Russian oil. So far, neither the Modi government nor the Adani Group has issued a response.
U.S. Investigation into Adani Group
According to a report by The Economic Times, Gautam Adani and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, are under U.S. scrutiny for allegedly bribing Indian officials with $265 million between 2020 and 2024. The bribes were reportedly paid to secure solar energy contracts expected to yield over $2 billion in profits over two decades.
Sagar Adani is currently the director of Adani Green Energy Ltd, the group’s renewable energy arm. The investigation, while ongoing, has the potential to create political and diplomatic fallout, particularly as India navigates a tense economic relationship with the U.S. under Trump’s second administration.
Trump’s Trade Threats and India’s Counter
The White House under Donald Trump has taken a harder line on India, calling it “not a good trading partner.” The imposition of 25% tariffs on Indian goods was followed by an undisclosed penalty, linked to India’s oil trade with Russia, its key defense and energy ally.
India issued a stern rebuttal, accusing the U.S. and EU of “double standards”. A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said it was “hypocritical” for the West to criticize India while continuing their own imports of Russian commodities like uranium, fertilizers, and chemicals.
When pressed on this hypocrisy, Trump claimed ignorance of ongoing American imports from Russia.
Rahul Gandhi vs Modi: Political and Legal Pressure
Gandhi’s post comes as he faces legal pressure at home. Last week, the Supreme Court advised him to shift his political attacks from social media to Parliament. The comment was made during a hearing in a criminal defamation case linked to his December 2022 remarks on the India-China clash in Galwan.
Despite the legal setbacks, Gandhi appears determined to sharpen his attacks against both the Modi government and its ties to industrial giants like Adani, especially at a time when India’s geopolitical and economic posturing is under global scrutiny.