Congress Raises Concerns Over LIC Investments
New Delhi: On Saturday, the Congress party accused the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of making substantial investments in Adani Group stocks after the latter faced significant market losses. They are calling for an investigation by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to explore how LIC was allegedly forced to make these investments.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress’s general secretary for communications, stated that the savings of LIC’s 30 crore policyholders were ‘systematically misused’ to support the Adani Group.
There has been no immediate comment from either the Adani Group or the government regarding these allegations.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared the Adani Group of stock manipulation claims made by Hindenburg Research, asserting that fund transfers between group companies did not violate any regulations. This investigation was prompted by the Supreme Court’s intervention.
Ramesh highlighted troubling new information in the media regarding how the ‘Modani joint venture systematically exploited the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the savings of its 30 crore policyholders.’
He claimed that internal documents indicate Indian officials drafted a proposal in May 2025 to invest approximately Rs 33,000 crores of LIC funds into various Adani Group companies.
The purported objectives were to ‘signal confidence in the Adani Group’ and to ‘encourage participation from other investors,’ Ramesh noted.
He raised questions about the pressures faced by officials from the Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog, suggesting they acted to rescue a private company amid serious allegations of misconduct. ‘Is this not a classic case of mobile phone banking?’ he asked.
Ramesh pointed out that the repercussions of ‘throwing public money at crony firms’ became evident when LIC incurred a staggering Rs 7,850 crore loss within just four hours of trading on September 21, 2024, following the indictment of Gautam Adani and several associates in the United States.
He further alleged that Adani is implicated in a Rs 2,000 crore bribery scheme aimed at securing overpriced solar power contracts in India. The Modi government has reportedly delayed serving a US SEC summons to this favored business conglomerate for nearly a year.
The Congress party has consistently criticized the government since the Adani Group’s stocks plummeted following the Hindenburg Research report, which outlined numerous allegations.
The Adani Group has dismissed these allegations as false, asserting compliance with all legal and disclosure obligations.
Ramesh also claimed that the ‘Modani MegaScam’ is extensive, involving the misuse of agencies like the ED, CBI, and Income Tax Department to coerce other private companies into selling their assets to the Adani. Group.
He alleged that there was ‘rigged privatization’ of essential infrastructure assets, such as airports and ports, solely for the benefit of the Adani Group.
Additionally, he pointed to the alleged misuse of diplomatic resources to secure contracts for the Adani Group in various countries, particularly in India’s neighboring regions.
Ramesh mentioned the import of ‘over-invoiced coal’ by close associates of Adani, utilizing a network of shell companies for money laundering, which has led to significant increases in electricity prices. from Adani’s power stations in Gujarat.
He also highlighted pre-election electricity supply agreements at inflated prices in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, along with the recent controversial allocation of land at Rs 1 per acre for a power plant in Bihar, which is gearing up for elections.
‘The full extent of this Modani MegaScam can only be thoroughly investigated by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, a demand the INC has been making for nearly three years since we released our 100-question series, Hum Who is Adani (HAHK)?’
‘As a preliminary step, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament should investigate how LIC was effectively forced to invest in the Adani Group,’ Ramesh concluded.
