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. 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.
In recent years, similar controversies around Adani projects in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have undermined our national interest and contributed to bad outcomes for India. 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. Adani’s renewable energy projects in Mannar district in Sri Lanka were also embroiled in controversy and were a part of the widespread protests against the Sri Lankan Government in 2022.
Historically, India’s soft power has been one of its greatest foreign policy strengths. 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.
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