Opposition leaders on Friday questioned whether the Narendra Modi government has entered into a quid pro quo arrangement, under which the United States Department of Justice is reportedly planning to drop charges against Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that the decision to drop the charges came after Gautam Adani hired a legal team led by Robert J Giuffra Jr, one of US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers.

Commenting on the report, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on social media: “The compromised PM has not struck a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release.”

In a similar vein, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha was quoted as saying by PTI: “…Whether you call it quid pro quo or something else, it now seems clear why we were demanding clarity on the trade deal.”

Jha said the Opposition had earlier pointed out that India’s trade deal with the US “was unfair, lacked balance, and ignored India’s interests”.

“Looking at the other side as well, the picture is now quite clear to me about what the reality behind the scenes was,” said the MP.

India and the US agreed on a framework for the interim trade deal on February 2. While the agreement has reduced US tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, Opposition parties have expressed concerns that the interests of farmers and small and medium enterprises may be jeopardised through the agreement.

An Indian delegation had travelled to the United States in April for meetings with American officials to advance negotiations for the bilateral trade agreement, PTI reported. A delegation from the US is expected to visit India for the next round of talks, although the dates for it have not been finalised yet, according to the news agency.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal asked whether the Centre had agreed to the US’ demand not to buy oil from Russia in exchange for the dropping of charges against Adani.

The Trump administration has been claiming that India’s purchases of Russian oil have been fueling its war on Ukraine. However, the US government had in April extended a waiver allowing countries, including India, to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products that had already been loaded onto ships till May 16.

On Friday, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi quoted The New York Times as claiming that Giuffra made an offer to US justice department officials that Adani would invest $10 billion in the US economy and help create 15,000 jobs if the charges against him were dropped.

“From one businessman to another – you help me, I help you and let's seal the deal – there was never a fraud, not any charges,” said Chaturvedi, commenting on the claim.

Allegations against Adani

The US authorities had in November 2024 indicted Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani for allegedly orchestrating a $265 million fraud scheme to bribe officials in India for solar energy contracts, and then misrepresenting the company’s anti-bribery practices to investors in the US.

The details of the alleged bribes were concealed to secure financing, the US justice department had claimed.

The Adani Group has denied the allegations. In a stock exchange filing in November 2024, the conglomerate said that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani had been charged in the US for securities fraud, not bribery.

Written by Neerad Pandharipande. Edited by Sneha.