In a recently viral Twitter post, an image has been circulating over the internet. The image of a petrol pump named ‘Indian Oil- Adani group’ is going viral, the image is being shared with the claim that the Central government has sold Indian Oil to Adani Group. A caption with the image translates to ‘Blind followers, see Indian Oil has been sold out’.
Netizens are claiming that the Indian Oil sector is sold to the Adani Group. The picture is circulated against the ruling government with a claim that the BJP government is selling all the government sector organisations to the Adani group. Since contentious farm laws were passed, posts claiming the government has sold several public sector units to Adani group are viral on social media.
Indian Oil-Adani Gas Private Limited (IOAGPL) is a joint venture company of Indian Oil Corporation and Adani Gas Ltd incorporated in 2013. Also, IOAGPL supplies piped natural gas to cities and not petrol or diesel as mentioned in the viral claim. “This is a 50-50 joint venture started in 2013. We are regulated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. Currently we operate in 19 geographical areas consist of 34 districts and 3 UTs (union territories),” a spokesman for Adani Gas Ltd confirmed. Congress MLA Kunal Patil also tweeted the image with the caption, “Indian oil is Adani Gas, India’s wealth is Adani’s treasure!”. In the about us section of Indian Oil Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd., it mentioned, “IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt. Ltd. (IOAGPL) is a joint venture company of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) – a Maharatna Company of Government of India and Adani Gas Ltd. (AGL), a leading city gas distribution company and part of Adani Group.”
The image of the fuelling station is viral in the backdrop of soaring fuel prices in India. While petrol prices had touched Rs 89 per litre in Delhi on Wednesday, the fuel was sold for Rs 96 a litre in Mumbai. National convener of Congress party’s social media department Saral Patel tweeted about the viral image with a Hindi caption insinuating that Indian Oil has been sold to Adani Group of Companies. Patel’s tweet reads ‘This is us. This is our country. And the country is being sold every day’. Hence, the viral claim that Indian Oil Corporation has been sold to the Adani group by the current government is false.
