Jairam Ramesh, a Congress leader, criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 29 regarding a news report that the Adani Group has chosen eight Chinese companies for its solar manufacturing project. Ramesh emphasized the need for a strategy to reduce India’s reliance on China.
He emphasized the importance of ensuring that taxpayers’ money does not support Chinese companies, particularly in contexts like the Adani Group’s solar manufacturing project.
This stance reflects concerns about economic dependency and strategic vulnerabilities related to Chinese investments in Indian projects.
In a post on ‘X’, Mr. Ramesh said,
“The non-biological Prime Minister infamously told the nation on June 19, 2020, after the Galwan clashes that ‘Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai (Neither has anyone entered our borders, nor has anyone occupied territories). However, he shows no hesitation in liberally issuing visas to Chinese workers to help one of his ‘tempowallah‘ buddies,” he said in the post on ‘X’ while tagging with it a newspaper report about Adani Solar seeking Centre’s nod to bring a few engineers from China.
Jairam Ramesh’s “tempowallah buddies” remark is indeed a reference to PM Modi’s criticism of Rahul Gandhi during a Lok Sabha election rally.
Modi had questioned why Rahul Gandhi had stopped criticizing Adani and Ambani and suggested that the Congress might have received financial contributions (“tempo loads of money”) from them in return.
Ramesh’s response uses this term to draw attention to the perceived closeness between certain business interests and political figures, highlighting ongoing political debates regarding corporate influence in Indian politics.
“The Adani Group, a major recipient of taxpayer largesse via the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, has reportedly selected eight Chinese companies to help its solar manufacturing project and has asked for special permission to issue visas for 30 Chinese workers,” Mr. Ramesh wrote on the social media platform.
PM Narendra Modi
“Having facilitated multiple Modani scams such as coal and power-equipment over-invoicing and the amassing of illegal stakes in Adani Group companies — all executed by individuals such as Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli — why would the non-biological PM not waive national security considerations in this instance to benefit his partner and close friend?” Mr. Ramesh said it is “bad enough that these concessions are being made even as the Chinese continue to occupy 2,000 sqkm of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh”.
Jairam Ramesh highlighted that India’s imports from China increased significantly, rising from $70 billion in 2018-19 to $101 billion in 2023-24.
This statistic underscores concerns about India’s growing economic dependence on Chinese imports and the need for strategic measures to reduce this reliance.
“Even the PLI scheme is benefitting China in sectors such as electronics, solar etc. where PLI beneficiaries are signing giant contracts with Chinese vendors even as they enjoy taxpayer subsidies. All this of course is in the name of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance),” Mr. Ramesh said.
“It is time for a proper strategy to wean India off dependence on China, and to ensure that taxpayer funds do not benefit Chinese companies. Prioritising his friends over national interest may be second nature to the PM, but it cannot be allowed to become national policy,” he added.
