Opinion: Agenda-Driven Propagandists Are Back, Along With Their Collaborators

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), along with their collaborators, the Financial Times (FT), is back with their not-so-hidden agenda, targeting India's homegrown business conglomerate, the Adani Group, one of the largest in the world. All in the name of investigative journalism! 

Their old and recycled contention is that in January 2014, the Adani Group imported low-grade coal from Indonesia and passed it off to the Tamil Nadu government-owned Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company as high-grade coal to make windfall gains.

It's pertinent to note what the Financial Times has written in its news report, which clearly reveals their motive. It says: "The latest revelations come as Adani seeks to rebrand itself into a big renewable energy player, including by building one of the world's largest wind and solar parks in Khavda, near the Pakistan border." 

Whose interests are they trying to serve, especially when the Financial Times claims that it raised the issue of Adani's coal imports out of concern for global environmental dimensions? If the Financial Times is serious about its claims regarding environmental concerns, it should be praising the Adani Group for its ever-expending green energy ventures. It seems that the FT editors and their fanciful content suppliers certainly need some tuition.

The FT further writes: "The findings are also likely to add to an intensifying political debate in India about the power and influence enjoyed by billionaires including Gautam Adani, whose names and vast wealth have surfaced during the current election campaign in which Narendra Modi is seeking a third term as prime minister."

Once again, the Financial Times editorial board and the funders of the OCCRP, which include George Soros's Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Oak Foundation, got it wrong - attempting to add rejected masala to a debate that concluded months ago.

The Congress party, its leader Rahul Gandhi, and his close confidant and communication department chief Jairam Ramesh immediately latched onto the issue, hoping against hope that they finally had something to use against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the two remaining phases of the ongoing parliamentary elections.

However, a coordinated effort to create noise around a recycled and rehashed report yielded nothing yet again. Much to their dismay, the opposite happened. The stock market reacted positively to the Adani Group. Investors, including major foreign investors, perhaps grew tired of such hoax calls from Western media and motivated so-called "investigative" groups. In any case, market sentiment, as displayed by investors, is also a barometer of public sentiment.

In their misconceived thoughts, they believed that by insinuating a perceived proximity between Prime Minister Modi and Adani, they would be able to dent the impeccable image of the current regime.

Shares of Adani Group, flagship Adani Enterprises included, had had their best days in recent months after the report came out. The stock of Adani Enterprises jumped 8.01% to Rs 3,391.20 apiece on the BSE. What helped was the chatter around the inclusion of Adani Enterprises in Sensex.

Take a look at other group stocks: Shares of NDTV zoomed 7.56%, Adani Ports climbed 4.72%, ACC shot up by 2.86%, Adani Power went up by 2.79%, Adani Total Gas advanced 2.3% and Ambuja Cements in excess of 2%.  Other group stocks surged too, taking the combined market cap of the group to a whopping Rs 17.23 lakh crore.

Clearly, investors rejected the Financial Times-OCCRP claims of wrongdoing in the supply of coal to the Tamil Nadu government-owned power company. The iconic global financial institution Cantor Fitzgerald stated that the Financial Times report against the Adani Group is "just for noise."

Unmindful of popular and market sentiments, the Congress party announced that it would constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) within one month of coming to power. It clearly shows the party's disconnect with the masses.

On August 31 last year, a tweet by the OCCRP provided a glimpse into its collaboration and orchestration with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress: "In response to our latest investigation, @RahulGandhi, a leader of India's largest party, will hold a press conference about the Adani Group...It is scheduled for 5 pm IST. Watch live." The tweet also included the YouTube link for Rahul Gandhi's press conference.

Ironically, none of Congress's INDI Alliance leaders have responded to Congress' latest assertions on the Financial Times-OCCRP report.

Remember, last year Congress disrupted the entire budget session, not even allowing a constitutionally mandated discussion on President Droupadi Murmu's maiden address to both houses of Parliament. Even then, key allies like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, and others disagreed with Congress's position.

They clearly forget that for Prime Minister Modi, winning an election is about establishing a connection with the voters through hard-earned credibility, fair and transparent delivery, and a long-term vision that people believe in. The Congress's misplaced belief in puncturing that connection with fake and manufactured reports originating from foreign lands is no potent weapon.

(Sanjay Singh is a senior journalist based in Delhi)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)