Rahul Gandhi targets PM Modi over Norway fund dropping Adani shares

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund excluded Adani Green Energy from its portfolio, asking whether Norway acted on Modi’s “personal request” to remove Adani from the pension fund blacklist during the PM’s Norway visit

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking if Norway agreed to his “personal request” to remove Adani from the pension fund blacklist.

Gandhi posed his query after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund dropped Adani Green from its portfolio in February.

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“We get very good information these days.

“Modi ji, did Norway agree to your personal request to remove Adani from their pension fund blacklist?” Gandhi said in a post on X.

He used a picture of news reports from February 27 saying, “Norway’s sovereign wealth fund drops Adani Green Energy from its portfolio” and May 18 saying, “PM Modi begins historic Norway visit – the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 43 years”.

In February this year, the USD 1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, decided to exclude Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) from its portfolio due to concerns about its alleged links to financial crime.

Norges Bank, which had in May 2024 excluded Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, on its website added AGEL to the list of companies that it has decided to exclude from its portfolio. It cited “gross corruption or other serious financial crime” as the criterion for its decision but gave no explanation.

When Norges Bank first bought AGEL shares in July 2020, the share price was Rs 341 and on February 27, it was Rs 944.

While AGEL did not immediately offer any comment, industry officials said a fossil fuel-funded sovereign fund was trying to create a narrative against a renewable energy company.