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Indian Express
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Rahul Gandhi's attack on Election Commission: How the ‘Atom Bomb' fizzled out
Rahul Gandhi has once again unleashed what he termed an 'atom bomb' of revelations against the Election Commission of India (ECI). On August 7, in a press conference, he accused the ECI of colluding with the BJP to rig the 2024 Lok Sabha elections through voter fraud in Karnataka and Maharashtra. He waved around supposed evidence of over 1,00,250 fake votes in Mahadevapura, citing duplicate voters, fake addresses and invalid photos. Unfortunately for Gandhi, this dramatised PowerPoint presentation turned out to be nothing more than a damp squib that fizzled out faster than his party's electoral prospects. Gandhi follows a predictable five-step playbook: Lose elections, concoct wild excuses, dodge formal complaints, refuse to substantiate claims in court and spread chaos with fake news. He made a claim about a voter whose EPIC number allegedly appeared in voter lists across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Lucknow. This was his grand proof of ECI's manipulation. But when fact-checked using the ECI's official voter search portal, the results were as embarrassing as a Rahul Gandhi rally. No such voter, named by Gandhi, was found in Lucknow or Maharashtra's voter lists by a few fact-checkers in the media. Within half an hour, his grand conspiracy unravelled, revealing nothing but a desperate attempt to deflect from his party's electoral drubbing and make wild and reckless allegations. In Maharashtra, Rahul Gandhi's claims about voter surges range wildly from 1 crore to 70 lakh to 40 lakh new voters, and lack any grounding in reality. His accusations of 'vote theft' in Maharashtra were already dismissed by the Bombay High Court with stern remarks, yet he persists. After the latest observations by the apex court on Gandhi's statements about the Indian Army, his credibility is at an all-time low. Yet, he continues to mislead. None of his allegations — from Rafale to Savarkar, Pegasus to Hindenburg, claims on RSS to China occupying Indian land — find any credence before a court of law. His hypocrisy is as glaring as his inability to win elections. When Congress wins in states like Himachal Pradesh or Telangana, the ECI is a paragon of fairness. But when it loses, the ECI is compromised. Even Congress veteran Selja Kumari admitted the party's own failures were to blame for the Haryana. Yet, Gandhi refuses to take a look within. His attacks on the ECI echo the Congress's old habit of demonising Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) — until several court rulings confirmed their integrity, forcing Gandhi to now chase a new bogeyman: Voter lists. What's particularly absurd is his refusal to back his claims with evidence. The Chief Electoral Officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra have invited him to submit his allegations under oath, as required by the Representation of the People Act, 1951. He responded by saying that his word is as good as a sworn affidavit! This isn't just arrogance, it's a deliberate attempt to dodge accountability. If his claims had substance, he would have exposed these in court instead of staging press conferences. Gandhi's assault on the ECI isn't just baseless but dangerous. By threatening 'serious consequences' if his demands aren't met, he is speaking the language of an Emergency-era tyrant who places dynastic ambition above democratic institutions. Gandhi's outbursts are more about 'EMI' (Emergency Mindset of Indira), not ECI. He seems to believe that his Parivar Tantra is above Samvidhan Tantra. However, Gandhi's latest allegations inadvertently bolster the case for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, a process Congress's ally Tejashwi Yadav opposes in Bihar. By crying foul about fake and duplicate voters, Rahul unwittingly endorses the ECI's efforts to clean up electoral rolls. Perhaps he missed the memo from his own ally, who recently inadvertently flaunted two EPIC cards/voter IDs in a press conference and went into pretty much the same silence mode when ECI sought details of his claims. If he is so concerned about voter fraud, why not champion SIR instead of undermining the ECI? Congress should read Ghalib: Ta umr Ghalib ye bhool karta raha, dhool chehre pe thi, Ghalib aaina saaf karta raha. The fault lies not in the mirror but your own reality, dear Rahul. The writer is national spokesperson, BJP
Time of India
12-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Hindenburg: A fiery descent
The Hindenburg disaster Sam Shere 's iconic photo captures the Hindenburg erupting into flames as it exploded mid-air in New Jersey, on May 6, 1937. Filled with flammable hydrogen, the German airship 's fiery crash ended the era of passenger dirigibles and remains one of aviation history's most iconic and tragic photographs.
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Business Standard
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
In defence of short-sellers: Key to a balanced and functional market
Successful traders who use WSB and publicly announce their positions along with the rationale have inspired millions of followers who enthusiastically mirror their trades Devangshu Datta Mumbai Listen to This Article The Viceroy-Vedanta affair that is currently front page news has similarities with the Hindenburg–Adani affair. In both cases, an overseas entity went short on a well-known group, and released reports explaining why. I'm not here to discuss the merits of the reports. It's up to traders who wish to take exposures (long or short) to make their own judgements. There are other interesting points one can make. The strategy of taking a position and then publicly revealing the position, and talking up the rationale is not new. Long investors have been doing this for over a century. In the early
Economic Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Who is Viceroy? The short-seller now targeting Vedanta after taking down 29 other giants
Mining tycoon Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group has come under the spotlight following explosive allegations made by US-based financial research firm Viceroy Research. However, Vedanta is far from the only company targeted by the short-seller. ADVERTISEMENT Global names like AMD, Ebix, Truecaller, and Wirecard are among 29 companies scrutinised by the firm, which has published 180 reports to date—excluding the latest one on Vedanta. Its most recent focus was Arbor Realty, against which Viceroy has issued more than two dozen reports. Vedanta is just the latest in a string of companies to be targeted by the US-based financial research firm. Stalwarts like AMD, Ebix, Truecaller, and Wirecard are among 29 firms that have been under the research firm's scanner. So far, Viceroy has published 180 reports—excluding the one released today on Vedanta. Its last set of reports focused on Arbor Realty, against which the short-seller has issued over two dozen companies Viceroy has reported on include Abalance, Adler Group, Athenex, Caesarstone, Capitec, Globe Life, Home REIT, Medical Properties Trust, MiMedx, NEPI Rockcastle, Neuroderm, Pareteum, Pretium, ProSieben, Quintis, ReconAfrica, Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget, S&T, Sorrento Therapeutics, Steinhoff, Svenska Cellulosa, Syrah Resources, and Research describes itself as an investigative financial research group registered in Delaware, USA. ADVERTISEMENT 'Our research reports have been prepared for educational purposes only and express our opinions. Our reports and any statements made in connection with them are the authors' opinions, based upon publicly available facts, field research, information, and analysis through our due diligence process. These are not statements of fact,' its website states.'We believe the publication of our opinions about public companies that we research is in the public interest. We are entitled to our opinions and the right to express them in a public forum.' ADVERTISEMENT 'In no event will we be liable for any direct or indirect trading losses caused by any information available in this report. Think critically about our opinions and do your own research and analysis before making any investment decisions. We are not registered as an investment advisor in any jurisdiction.' Also Read: Explained: American Viceroy does a Hindenburg on Anil Agarwal's Vedanta. Here's what you need to know ADVERTISEMENT Here's a look at some high-profile cases:Viceroy published two reports on AMD, a multinational semiconductor company, on March 13 and March 22, 2018. One report, titled 'AMD confirms CTS vulnerabilities, downplaying to avoid the financial implications' , raised concerns about security flaws discovered by CTS Labs. It claimed these vulnerabilities posed systemic risks to enterprise networks, and that AMD tried to downplay them due to the severe financial and reputational impact. ADVERTISEMENT The earlier report, 'AMD – The Obituary' , was highly critical and alleged that AMD's processors were exposed to undetectable, hardware-level malware published seven reports on Ebix, with the latest on July 1, 2019, titled 'Ebix – FOIA response confirms enforcement investigation.' It claimed the company was under regulatory scrutiny, citing a response from the US SEC to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reports were published between September and October 2022, including: 'Truecaller's True Colors' 'Truecaller – Consent for Minors' 'Truecaller – Yours True-ly, Viceroy Research' The firm accused Truecaller of regulatory, tax, and privacy violations. It alleged the company was under tax proceedings in both India and Sweden over questionable transfer pricing and GST released two reports: 'Zatarra Research & Investigations – Wirecard Reports' (July 3, 2020) 'ESMA Fast Track Peer Review: Wirecard' (November 6, 2020) The reports criticised the failure of German regulators BaFin and FREP to enforce financial reporting rules before Wirecard's collapse. Also Read: Baseless and malicious: Vedanta slams Viceroy report, says claims 'meant to discredit' the group (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Who is Viceroy? The short-seller now targeting Vedanta after taking down 29 other giants
Mining tycoon Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group has come under the spotlight following explosive allegations made by US-based financial research firm Viceroy Research . However, Vedanta is far from the only company targeted by the short-seller . Global names like AMD , Ebix, Truecaller, and Wirecard are among 29 companies scrutinised by the firm, which has published 180 reports to date—excluding the latest one on Vedanta. Its most recent focus was Arbor Realty, against which Viceroy has issued more than two dozen reports. Vedanta is just the latest in a string of companies to be targeted by the US-based financial research firm. Stalwarts like AMD, Ebix, Truecaller, and Wirecard are among 29 firms that have been under the research firm's scanner. So far, Viceroy has published 180 reports—excluding the one released today on Vedanta. Its last set of reports focused on Arbor Realty, against which the short-seller has issued over two dozen publications. Other companies Viceroy has reported on include Abalance, Adler Group, Athenex, Caesarstone, Capitec, Globe Life, Home REIT, Medical Properties Trust, MiMedx, NEPI Rockcastle, Neuroderm, Pareteum, Pretium, ProSieben, Quintis, ReconAfrica, Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget, S&T, Sorrento Therapeutics, Steinhoff, Svenska Cellulosa, Syrah Resources, and Tyro. What is Viceroy Research? Viceroy Research describes itself as an investigative financial research group registered in Delaware, USA. 'Our research reports have been prepared for educational purposes only and express our opinions. Our reports and any statements made in connection with them are the authors' opinions, based upon publicly available facts, field research, information, and analysis through our due diligence process. These are not statements of fact,' its website states. 'We believe the publication of our opinions about public companies that we research is in the public interest. We are entitled to our opinions and the right to express them in a public forum.' 'In no event will we be liable for any direct or indirect trading losses caused by any information available in this report. Think critically about our opinions and do your own research and analysis before making any investment decisions. We are not registered as an investment advisor in any jurisdiction.' Also Read: Explained: American Viceroy does a Hindenburg on Anil Agarwal's Vedanta. Here's what you need to know Here's a look at some high-profile cases: 1) AMD Viceroy published two reports on AMD, a multinational semiconductor company, on March 13 and March 22, 2018. One report, titled 'AMD confirms CTS vulnerabilities, downplaying to avoid the financial implications' , raised concerns about security flaws discovered by CTS Labs. It claimed these vulnerabilities posed systemic risks to enterprise networks, and that AMD tried to downplay them due to the severe financial and reputational impact. The earlier report, 'AMD – The Obituary' , was highly critical and alleged that AMD's processors were exposed to undetectable, hardware-level malware threats. 2) Ebix Viceroy published seven reports on Ebix, with the latest on July 1, 2019, titled 'Ebix – FOIA response confirms enforcement investigation.' It claimed the company was under regulatory scrutiny, citing a response from the US SEC to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. 3) Truecaller Three reports were published between September and October 2022, including: 'Truecaller's True Colors' 'Truecaller – Consent for Minors' 'Truecaller – Yours True-ly, Viceroy Research' The firm accused Truecaller of regulatory, tax, and privacy violations. It alleged the company was under tax proceedings in both India and Sweden over questionable transfer pricing and GST practices. 4) Wirecard Viceroy released two reports: 'Zatarra Research & Investigations – Wirecard Reports' (July 3, 2020) 'ESMA Fast Track Peer Review: Wirecard' (November 6, 2020) The reports criticised the failure of German regulators BaFin and FREP to enforce financial reporting rules before Wirecard's collapse. Also Read: Baseless and malicious: Vedanta slams Viceroy report, says claims 'meant to discredit' the group
