Adani Paytm report: Congress attacks PM Modi, says 'Paytm was Pay to Modi'

Opposition party Congress on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister over report claiming that billionaire Gautam Adani is speculated to acquire stake in Paytm.

"Remember when Paytm was referred to as Pay to Modi? Prophetic words! Atmanirbhar to Parmatmanirbhar to Adaninirbhar!" said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh as he shared photo of the ToI report claiming Adani and Paytm deal.

Read More: Adani's fintech play: Gautam Adani likely in talks with Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire stake in Paytm's parent co

Earlier during the day, ToI reported that Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, is likely considering acquiring a stake in Paytm's parent company One97 Communications. As per the report, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma visited Adani at his office in Ahmedabad to "finalise the contours of a deal" on Tuesday.

The report further claimed that Adani is engaging with West Asian funds to attract them as investors in One 97, the company that pioneered mobile payments in India.

About Adani-Paytm deal:

Soon after report on Adani and Paytm was out, the two companies have clarified their stance. One97 Communications on Wednesday responded to a media report claiming that Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, is likely considering acquiring a stake in Paytm's parent company One97 Communications.

"We hereby clarify that the abovementioned news item is speculative and the company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard. We have always made and will continue to make disclosures in compliance with our obligations under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," communicated the company in an official statement.

Read More: Not engaged in any discussions: Paytm issues clarification on report claiming Adani in talks to acquire stake in company

Additionally, Adani has also clarified stance of the company on report claiming interest of Adani on stake sale. “We categorically deny this baseless speculation. It is totally false and untrue,” said a spokesperson of Adani Group.

The billionaire has been reportedly in talks to enter payments and e-commerce area. Media reports suggest that Adani is likely to apply for a licence to operate on UPI, India's public digital payments network. In addition, the billionaire Gautam Adani's company is also in talks with banks to finalise plans to launch a co-branded credit card.