NEW DELHI: Adani Group‘s proposal to take over the airport in Nairobi, which has drawn protests from
transport workers
of the African nation, was criticised by the Congress which called it a move that could “convert into anger against India and the Indian Government.”
Adani Enterprises has established a Kenyan subsidiary in a bid to intensify its efforts to take over the management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, The East African reported.
“This is a matter of grave concern for India, because the non-biological PM’s friendship with Mr. Adani is now globally well known. The protests can therefore easily convert into anger against India and the Indian Government,” Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said.
Continuing with his ‘non-biological PM’ rhetoric, he further said, “Today, the PM’s collusion with the Adani group has contributed to the diminishing of this strength and unprecedented reversals for India on the global stage – just one of the many sacrifices the country has had to make at the altar of the non-biological PM’s special friendship.”
Kenya airports authority workers went on strike at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Monday to protest Gautam Adani‘s proposal to take over the airport, citing ongoing concerns about job security.
“The Adani Group’s proposed takeover of the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, has led to widespread protests in the country, with the Kenya Aviation Workers Union calling for a strike to demonstrate its opposition,” Ramesh added.
Ramesh cited recent projects by the billionaire group in neighbouring countries that led to protests against their respective governments. He said that Sheikh Hasina government’s contract to purchase power from Adani’s coal plant in Jharkhand was one of the boiling points which led to her resignation.
“The Bangladesh Government’s contract to purchase power from Adani’s coal plant in Jharkhand, for instance, became a flashpoint in the protests that led to PM Sheikha Hasina’s resignation last month,” he said in a post on X.
Last month, Kenya Aviation Workers Union had called upon the government to scrap the “unlawful intended sale of JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) to Adani Airport Holdings of India.”
The Kenyan government had assured the workers that the airport was not for sale and clarified that no decision had been made regarding the proposed public-private partnership aimed at upgrading the hub.
