(Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has “nothing to hide” on the Adani Group’s tussle with a US short seller and the subsequent rout in its shares, despite opposition assertions of close ties between Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani, Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview. 

Adani’s business empire has lost more than $120 billion after allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation levied by the American short seller Hindenburg Research. Adani has denied all accusations several times.

“The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the matter. As a minister of the cabinet, it is not proper for me to comment,” Shah, a close aide of Modi, told ANI news agency in an interview. “But in this, there is nothing to hide for the BJP and nothing to be afraid of,” referring his Bharatiya Janata Party. 

The opposition has been drawing attention to the ties between the tycoon and the prime minister and to Adani’s meteoric growth that mirrors Modi’s political journey to the top elected office. Modi has not directly addressed the issue, instead lashing out the opposition parties and highlighted their corruption scandals.

The government Monday told the country’s top court that it’s not opposed to setting up a panel to look into regulatory framework for protecting investors’ interests.

 

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