Vijayawada, Nov 27 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila on Wednesday alleged that neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu were initiating action against the Adani Group in the wake of bribery allegations.
Adani Group chairman Goutham Adani is embroiled in an alleged USD 250 million bribery scandal for greasing the hands of Indian officials for lucrative solar power contracts. The Adani Group has denied the allegations The allegations also entangled the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led erstwhile YSRCP regime and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
"There is no action from Modi there (Central govt) and also from Babu (Chandrababu) here (state). The alliance government (NDA in Andhra) has to answer why it is not taking action," Sharmila told reporters after lodging a complaint against this deal with Governor S Abdul Nazeer at the Raj Bhavan.
The Congress leader appealed to the Governor to rescind the deal with the Adani Group and initiate a probe, adding that Andhra Pradesh will suffer a great deal due to it.
When Gujarat government forged deals with SECI at Rs 1.99 per unit, she alleged that the southern state signed an agreement at Rs 2.49 per unit, 'which will eventually turn out to be Rs 5 per unit'.
Highlighting that the alleged corrupt deal which occurred in India came to light in a foreign country, the opposition leader claimed that all Indian enforcement agencies are in "Adani's hands".
"It is a shame that the world came to know about this bribery deal through America (USA). We lost our prestige on the global stage. American courts are getting ready to take action and make arrests there but there is no single action from our government here," she said.
Alleging that Nadiu is also backing off from taking action, she claimed that the CM is "scared of Adani and Modi" and is even "avoiding uttering Adani".
Though the TDP vociferously opposed this deal when it was in the opposition, Sharmila questioned why it is not acting against it after coming to power.
Further, she underscored that the Congress party will fight against the Centre over this deal and added that the party has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) over this issue.
Meanwhile, APCC vice president Kolanukonda Sivaji reminded that African country Kenya has cancelled all the deals it forged with Adani, demanding the NDA government at the Centre to follow suit.
Speaking to PTI, he said: "Adani companies' credibility has been damaged and their ratings have plummeted. The government should be careful before SBI and LIC lose their investments in Adani companies. A sitting judge should investigate these cases." PTI STH KH