Jairam Ramesh urges a JPC probe, calling LIC policyholders’ funds misused to prop up debt-laden Adani amid U.S. criminal charges. Internal memos reveal bureaucrats allegedly pressured LIC to invest in Adani bonds and equities, raising questions of top-down cronyism.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, October 25, 2025 – In a scathing attack on the Modi government, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh accused the ruling dispensation of orchestrating a massive financial bailout for the Adani Group using public funds from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Termed the “Modani MegaScam” by the opposition—a portmanteau highlighting alleged cronyism between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani—Ramesh claimed LIC’s 30 crore policyholders’ savings were systematically misused to prop up the debt-laden conglomerate amid U.S. criminal charges.
The allegations follow an explosive investigative report by The Washington Post on October 24, 2025, titled “India’s $3.9 billion plan to help Modi’s mogul ally after U.S. charges”. The article, co-authored by Ranjana Sinha and Ravi Nair, revealed internal government documents showing officials from the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services (DFS), NITI Aayog, and LIC coordinated a covert investment strategy in May 2025, funneling approximately ₹33,000 crore ($3.9 billion) into Adani Group bonds and equity stakes. The plan was reportedly aimed at “signaling confidence” in the group and encouraging investor participation as foreign banks withdrew due to escalating U.S. probes.
LIC Bailout: Alleged Political Pressure
Internal memos accessed by The Washington Post allegedly show senior bureaucrats pressuring LIC executives to fully subscribe to Adani Ports’ ₹5,000 crore bond issuance and increase equity holdings in entities like Adani Enterprises and Adani Green Energy. The timing was critical: in September 2024, U.S. prosecutors had indicted Adani and seven associates on charges of a ₹2,000 crore bribery scheme, resulting in LIC suffering ₹7,850 crore in losses in Adani-linked investments in a single session.
Ramesh questioned the move: “Under whose pressure did Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog officials decide their job was to bail out a private company facing serious criminal allegations? Is this not a textbook case of ‘mobile phone banking’?”
He also highlighted the government’s refusal to serve a U.S. SEC summons on Adani for nearly a year, emphasizing alleged stonewalling on regulatory compliance.
Broader ‘Modani MegaScam’ Allegations
Ramesh framed the LIC episode as part of a wider web of alleged cronyism, echoing Congress’s 2023 Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series:
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Agency Misuse for Asset Grabs: ED, CBI, and IT raids allegedly coerced private firms to sell airports, ports, and other infrastructure to Adani at undervalued prices.
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Rigged Privatizations: Mumbai and Ahmedabad airports and strategic ports allegedly handed over to Adani via opaque deals.
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Over-Invoiced Coal Imports: Funds reportedly laundered through shell companies, inflating electricity tariffs for Gujarat consumers.
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Pre-Election Power Deals: High-priced electricity supply contracts in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, plus a controversial ₹1/acre land allocation for an Adani power plant in Bihar.
“This isn’t development; it’s destruction funded by taxpayers,” Ramesh asserted, linking LIC’s surge in Adani holdings to broader economic fallout.
Disturbing revelations have just emerged in the media about how the Modani joint venture systematically misused the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the savings of its 30 crore policyholders.
Internal documents reveal that Indian officials drafted and pushed… pic.twitter.com/lI7gz66kWo
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 25, 2025
Demands for Investigation
The Congress reiterated its three-year demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the “Modani MegaScam.” As an immediate step, Ramesh urged Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by opposition MP K.C. Venugopal, to examine the LIC-Adani nexus. The PAC could summon LIC Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty and Finance Ministry officials when Parliament reconvenes in the winter session.
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Adani and Government Pushback
The Adani Group dismissed the claims as “baseless and recycled propaganda,” emphasizing that LIC investments were market-driven, SEBI-compliant, and yielded strong returns despite market volatility. LIC holdings in Adani remain under 1% of its ₹56 lakh crore portfolio.
Government sources called the accusations “politically motivated election fodder”, citing SEBI’s September 2025 clean chit on most Hindenburg allegations. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya countered: “Congress’s Modani obsession ignores how Adani builds India’s infrastructure, while their scams like 2G and Coal Gate drained billions.”
Meanwhile, opposition voices amplified the controversy: TMC MP Mahua Moitra tweeted, “LIC policyholders aren’t Modi’s ATM for Adani bailouts!”, while AAP’s Sanjay Singh demanded an Emergency-like probe. On X (formerly Twitter), #ModaniMegaScam trended nationally with over 50,000 mentions.
Implications Ahead of Winter Session
As India heads into state elections in Bihar and beyond, the LIC-Adani saga threatens to dominate parliamentary discourse. Analysts warn of eroding investor trust in public insurers like LIC, whose shares dipped 1.2% on October 25. The PAC’s next meeting in November will be closely watched to see if LIC’s “lifeline” for Adani becomes a political noose for the government.
Ramesh concluded, “The Modi government keeps funding @gautam_adani & the Indian people have to keep bailing him out.”
