"Goron Se India Ki Tarakki...": Virender Sehwag On Adani-Hindenburg Row

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag has described the turmoil in India's capital markets as a "hit job" by the West in a widely-shared tweet.

Shares of Adani group firms have fallen sharply - some have started gaining marginally now - after a report by a US-based short seller alleged corporate wrongdoing, which Adani has denied.

Mr Sehwag, without naming the short seller, Hindenburg Research, alleged the West can't handle India's rise and that the events that led to turmoil in India's capital markets "look like a well-planned conspiracy."

"Goron se India ki tarakki bardaasht nahi hoti (the white can't bear to see India's progress). The hit job on India's market looks like a well-planned conspiracy. Koshish kitni bhi kar lein but as always, Bharat aur majboot hi nikalkar ubhrega (no matter how hard they try, India will come out stronger as always)," tweeted the former cricketer, who retired in 2015 on his 37th birthday.

Mr Sehwag often shares his views on current affairs in his social media posts. He had praised demonetisation or the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in November 2016 as a "good move".

Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has called the allegations by Hindenburg a "calculated attack" on India, its institutions and growth story, saying the allegations are "nothing but a lie".

In a 413-page response on January 29, days after the report came out, Adani group said the report was driven by "an ulterior motive" to "create a false market" to allow the US firm to make financial gains.

Some supported the theory that the short seller, Nathan Anderson, who runs Hindenburg Research, published the report with a selfish motive to make money since a drop in Adani group shares would benefit him.

Others, including the opposition parties in India, have demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations and the impact on the investments of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI), and other public sector banks and financial institutions.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have assured investors they are closely tracking the developments and will protect their interests.

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