TMC MP Mahua Moitra has raised questions over the credibility of Hiranandani Group CEO Darshan Hiranandani’s affidavit, alleging that it was “drafted by the PMO” and he was forced to sign it after being “threatened” with “total shut down” of his family’s businesses.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) held a “proverbial gun” to Darshan and his father’s heads and gave them 20 minutes to sign this “letter”, Mahua claimed in a statement issued late on Thursday night.
Her statement came shortly after Hiranandani, who allegedly paid Moitra to raise questions in Parliament about the Adani Group, claimed in the signed affidavit that the TMC leader targeted billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani to “malign and embarrass” Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose impeccable reputation gave the opposition no opportunity to attack him.
He alleged that she provided him with her Parliament login and password to ask questions targeting Adani after the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation booked capacity at the Gujarat-based conglomerate’s Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha and not at his firm’s planned facility.
In her two-page statement, Moitra said the draft of the “letter” issued by Hiranandani was “sent by the PMO and he was forced to sign it”.
“Three days ago (16.10.2023), the Hiranandani Group put out an official press release stating that all charges levelled against them were baseless. Today (19.10.2023), an ‘approver affidavit’ has been leaked to the press. This ‘affidavit’ is on a white piece of paper with no letterhead and there is no official origin aside from a press leak.
“Why would one of India’s most respected/educated businessman sign a letter like this on white paper unless a gun was put to his head to do it,” she asked.
“The PMO held a proverbial gun to Darshan and his father’s heads and gave them 20 minutes to sign this letter sent to them. They were threatened with a total shut down of all their businesses. His father is in real estate which depends on government licenses…,” she said.
Moitra, who represents West Bengal’s Krishnanagar in the Lok Sabha, said though tragic, what Hiranandani did it is “totally understandable”.