“Two countries never discuss such individual issues…”: PM Modi’s retort to question on ‘Adani case

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a sharp retort to a question on whether the Adani Group case featured in the discussions between him and US President Donald Trump and said two prominent leaders of two countries never discuss such individual issues”

” India is a democracy and our culture is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, we consider the whole world as one family. I believe every Indian is mine. Two prominent leaders of two countries never discuss such individual issues,” he said. He was asked if the “Gautam Adani case” was discussed in the meeting with Donald Trump.

PM Modi had bilateral discussions with President Trump during “a very substantive and productive visit” to the United States. It was the Prime Minister’s first visit to the United States after the inauguration of President Trump for a second term. The discussions at the White House went on for four hours. The discussions covered a lot of ground, and the entire gamut of the relationship, apart from regional and global issues of concern, were discussed.

In November last year, an indictment was unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charging prominent Indian executives, including Chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, by linking them to an alleged bribery scheme.

Adani Group strongly denied the bribery allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of the Adani Green and termed them “baseless”.

Earlier this week, six US lawmakers highlighted the Adani indictment in a letter written to the newly-appointed US Attorney General Pamela Bondi over “questionable decisions” made by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under Joe Biden.

“Some of these decisions involved selectively pursuing and abandoning cases, often acting against America’s interests at home and abroad, jeopardizing relationships with close allies like India,” the lawmakers said.

In the letter, the US Congressmen mentioned about the case against India-based company Adani Group.US lawmakers Lance Gooden, Pat Fallon, Mike Haridopolos, Brandon Gill, William R Timmmons and Brian Babin signed the letter written to Pamela Bondi.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, earlier this week, signed an executive order directing the US Justice Department to halt persecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign officials while trying to win or retain business in their nations, Reuters reported.

Trump’s new order halts implementation of the nearly 50-year-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and orders Attorney General Pam Bondi to review current and past decisions related to the law and make new guidelines for enforcement

Enacted in 1977, the law bans US-based companies from bribing foreign officials. Over time, the legislation has become a guiding force for how US firms operate in other nations.