Opposition MPs on protest march stopped at Vijay Chowk

New Delhi: Leaders of several opposition parties were on Wednesday stopped by the police at Vijay Chowk here as they took out a protest march from Parliament House to hand over a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate on the Adani issue. As the opposition leaders were stopped from proceeding to the agency's office, they returned to Parliament complex.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the police was not allowing the opposition MPs of around 18 parties to march in protest and present its case for a detailed investigation into the Adani issue.

Gandhi asked why India's national security is being "compromised" by giving control of strategic defence equipment to unknown foreign entities.

A report claimed that ELARA India Opportunities Fund (Elara IOF), a venture capital fund managed by Elara Capital, is one of the top four entities registered in Mauritius that holds shares predominantly in Adani Group companies. According to the report, records show that along with the Adani Group, it is a promoter entity in a defence company, Bengaluru-based Alpha Design Technologies Private Limited. This defence company, incorporated in 2003, works closely with ISRO and DRDO and has a Rs 590 crore contract with the Union Ministry of Defence in 2020 to upgrade and digitise the ageing Pechora missile and radar systems, the report said.

Sharing the screenshot of the media report on Twitter, Gandhi said, "India's missile and radar upgrade contract is given to a company owned by Adani and a dubious foreign entity called Elara. "Who controls Elara? Why is India's national security being compromised by giving control of strategic defence equipment to unknown foreign entities?" Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also shared screenshots of the report on Twitter and took a swipe at the government. "The 'Chhupa Rustom' category award at the Oscars goes to @DRDO_India and @PIBHomeAffairs. Happy to have unknown foreign funds controlling sensitive defense contracts! Only for their best friend Mr Adani," she tweeted.

Citing the same media report, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said on Twitter, "This is in India's Defence space, a key investor in Adani Group, Mauritius based Elara IOF, with 96% of its corpus invested in the group till Dec, '22 is also co-owner in a Defence company, the firm works closely with ISRO & DRDO, both jointly hold over 51% stake. Amazing coincidence!" Opposition parties have been persistent in their attack on the government. It comes weeks after Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses in the wake of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, on the conglomerate.