Sharad Pawar, the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), met with industrialist Gautam Adani at his residence in Silver Oak, Mumbai, for a two-hour-long meeting on Thursday. Although there were expectations in the political circles that Pawar would tweet about the meeting later, he did not. Later in the day, Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, visited Pawar's residence.
The meeting between Pawar and Adani is significant in light of the Congress's call for a joint parliamentary probe into allegations made against the Adani Group. Pawar had previously opposed such a probe, stating that the Adani Group was being unfairly targeted, and had questioned the credentials of Hindenburg Research, an international shortseller that had published a report making allegations against the business group.
On April 7, Pawar had dismissed the idea of a JPC probe, citing the potential dominance of BJP members on the panel, and had suggested that the Supreme Court-appointed committee was a more appropriate inquiry. However, he later softened his stance, stating that he would not oppose the opposition's call for a JPC probe for the sake of opposition unity, although he remained skeptical about its effectiveness.
Opposition leader Prithviraj Chavan strongly opposed Pawar's position, arguing that a JPC probe was necessary and the only competent authority to investigate "such scams." He had previously served as a member of the JPC headed by Pawar, which had investigated the illegal use of pesticides in cold drinks.