Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (May 15, 2026) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the U.S. only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.

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"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Mr. Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the U.S. has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.

The U.S. government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published on Thursday (May 14).

Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".

"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.

"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.

In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.

It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised $2 billion in loans and bonds, including from U.S. firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.

The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.