New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi evaded a question during his joint press conference with US President Donald Trump – only his third in 16 years – on billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
Adani had recently been charged by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in criminal and civil cases for allegedly bribing Indian government officials to the tune of more than $250 millions to further the Adani Group’s solar plans.
A reporter at the White House on February 13 asked whether the issue had been discussed in Modi and Trump’s conversation.
Modi appeared to invoke Indian hospitality before saying this was a “personal matter.”
“India is a democracy built on the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – the world is one family. Every Indian is part of this family, and we do not bring personal matters into conversations between two nations,” he said.
Modi is indeed understood to be a longtime friend of Adani’s but it is unclear why he considered the bribery charge against Adani “personal,” considering that the charges were unsealed to the public in November 20, led to an outpouring of questions in the Indian parliament by the opposition and also a loss for Adani in the stock markets.
On February 10, Trump also paused for 180 days the implementation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) under which Adani was charged, changing the trajectory of the cases against him.
Modi was not asked questions on whether the Indian government was going to investigate Adani’s alleged bribery of government officials, and did not address this of his own accord either.
‘Cover up,’ says opposition
The opposition in India accused Modi of “covering up” the businessman’s corruption abroad.
ये तो सब जानते हैं.. pic.twitter.com/PbhfcVBLhT
Advertisement— Congress (@INCIndia) February 14, 2025
“Vyaktigat Mamla Hai” pic.twitter.com/2Vlli2cKWk
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 14, 2025
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said that Modi was “covering up” for Adani’s corruption in the United States.
“If you ask questions in the country, there is silence. If you ask abroad, it is a personal matter! Even in America, Modi Ji covered up Adani Ji’s corruption! When filling a friend’s pocket is “nation building” for Modiji, then taking bribes and looting the nation’s wealth becomes a “personal matter”,” he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that with his response, Modi had showed “his friendship with Adani in America”.
“When a journalist in America asked PM Modi a question about corruption and bribery of his close friend Adani, Modi ji called it a personal matter. It is extremely reprehensible and shameful that the Prime Minister has termed Adani’s misdeed of looting the country’s wealth and distributing bribes as a personal matter,” the party said in a statement.
Finally!
PM Modi is FORCED to do a press conference in the US – something he hasn’t done in India in 11 years.
THIS is why he NEVER takes press questions in India.
THIS is why his “interviews” in India are fully scripted.
He’s so ANGRY & FLUSTERED :point_down:pic.twitter.com/sG2cfdKCq8
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) February 14, 2025
TMC MP Saket Gokhale said that Modi was “forced” to do a press conference and accused him of being “angry and flustered”.
“Finally! PM Modi is FORCED to do a press conference in the US – something he hasn’t done in India in 11 years. THIS is why he NEVER takes press questions in India. THIS is why his “interviews” in India are fully scripted. He’s so ANGRY & FLUSTERED,” he wrote on X.
Modi also faced opposition criticism earlier this week accusing him of endangering national security to favour private billionaires, after a report unveiled that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Union government relaxed critical and long-standing national security defence protocols allowing Adani to go ahead with the world’s largest renewable energy park in Gujarat’s Khavda with solar panels and wind turbines within a kilometre of the India-Pakistan border along the Rann of Kutch.
