Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of protecting billionaire businessman Gautam Adani, who was indicted by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged bribery.

Talking to reporters on the premises of Parliament, Gandhi reiterated his demand for the arrest of Adani. “You think Adani is going to accept the charges? Obviously, he is going to deny the charges. The point is he (Adani) has to be arrested as we have said,” he said.

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Asserting that hundreds of people are being arrested on trivial charges, the Congress leader said, “The gentleman has been indicted in the US for thousands of crores. He should be in jail. The government is protecting him.”

Earlier, the leader of the Opposition in the Lower House called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into alleged irregularities of the Adani Group with a demand for the removal of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch accusing her of protecting Adani.

“Adani should be arrested immediately. Madhabi Buch, who is his protector, should be removed (as the SEBI chief). There should be a probe against her,” Gandhi said.

It may be mentioned here that Congress had demanded the resignation of Buch following the Hindenburg Research report against her in August. The US-based short seller alleged that Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.

The Adani Group denied the allegations made by the US DoJ and the US SEC and said all possible legal recourse will be sought.