Thread by @KumudShankar

1. Mr. Shekhar Gupta is factually incorrect, morally wrong & lacking in journalistic courage
He defends gov & regulator’s inaction in view of the Adani exposé with a fanatic zeal calling it Good Capitalism. That term is evil at so many levels. Good Capitalism. Is Mr. Gupta

2. advocating for unbridled laissez-faire giving a free-hand for powerhouses to manipulate with common people’s trust & savings?

Mr. Gupta in the defence of his argument mounts a 5-pointer. Let’s look at each of these

3. Moral nature of Corruption with or w/o global interlinkages remains the same. What changes is the impact it can have on global economy or perhaps even the investment perception of the nation. On the former, Adani while a giant among the Indian businesses is not big enough to

4. cripple global or even Indian economy. The latter can be a blessing in disguise if regulator intervenes to cleanup the system to prevent a repeat

5. Undue emphasis on international media. What Mr. Gupta is implying is that the global media has gone into an overdrive with India bashing. Nothing of that sort has happened. There are reporting of the event, primarily due to legacy of #Hindenburg, the scale of #Adaniscam & its

6. close proximity to Modi govt. This is not a global business headline, rest assured. We should be thankful as journalists abroad have done the job that their Indians counterparts including Mr. Gupta should have done

7. Not sure why this is of relevance. India is becoming a more global economy & its businesses are looking beyond shore for business, acquisitions & investment. Is Adani India’s most globalised corporate? Why not a Tata or Infosys or even Serum Institute for that matter?

8. Crucial point. This actually is a telltale on the sorry state of Indian journalism. Few journalists & politicians have spoken about the Adani nuke. Only they’ve either been witch-hunted (@paranjoygt) or unheard (#RahulGandhi). Before he dismisses Hindenburg as ‘tiny foreign

9. financial institution’, Mr. Gupta should apply that puny brain of his into reading the report on Adani & also how #HindenburgResearch previous financial investigations have exposed some mega-financial frauds globally

10. His last point which Mr. Gupta describes as most significant is perhaps the most foolish if you apply Chanakya Niti. Sorry Mr. Gupta, Hindenburg is not your expected whistleblower who can be silenced, neutralised, bought, ED’ed. They’re professional financial investigator

11. with established credibility & acumen to catch the dragon by its tail. When you cannot threaten, you dishonour, that’s your prettiest argument. It’s BS & sad because you Sir could have done better.

12. An Adani take-down controversy with twin goals of quick profits & damaging India’s reputation seems to be a copy job of Pathan script. Dear Mr. Gupta, when you’ve an insipid script at least back it up with powerful performers. Sadly in you kitty you’ve silent era FM, PM, SEBI

13. & way over dramatic Adani CFO & Mr. Harish Salve. Poor start.

Do you know this is not about Adani? Or for that matter even Hindenburg. P&L for both will still be a billionaire’s end game. The real losers are retail investors & those who’ve been indirectly exposed to Adani

14. through LIC, SBI & other PSU banks who account for 50% of funds infused in Adani. If you still clap at the govt inaction, you’re grossly irresponsible towards your duties as a journalist. You’ve confused market risks with market manipulation. Every Ponzi scheme, each

15. crypto-racket is a market risk. However, when it clouds an unsuspecting public with blatant advertisement of avarice, it is the govts moral obligation to interfere & protect public interest. In case of Adani, serious allegations have been raised. They’ve not been answered by

16. logic but obfuscated with nationalism. By beating the plate of nationalism you’re conniving with corrupt corporates to cheat the people of India. It’s ironic that your column is titled ‘National Interest’, because all it has at its heart is a sold out Capitalist’s Interest.