Bhubaneswar: The Opposition Congress Monday questioned the Odisha BJP government’s silence on the alleged Adani bribery case in which the state has been named by a US court.
The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam who asked, “What is the reason behind the state government’s silence? While the Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh governments have already made their stands clear, the Odisha government is yet to open its mouth on the issue.”
Demanding a judicial probe into it, Kadam said, “The then government had purchased green power from Adani Group at a higher price, allegedly by bribing some officials in the state.”
He further questioned, “What could be the reason behind the Odisha government’s silence? It could be due to the Adani-Modi Bhai-Bhai relationship,” the CLP leader said.
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Congress whip CS Raazen Ekka also made a similar demand and pointed out, “Though the Odisha government-run PSU, Gridco, had initially rejected the proposal to purchase 500 MW of green power from Adani through Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), later the state corporation agreed.”
He asked, “What was the reason behind the initial refusal and later acceptance of the agreement?”
The Congress MLAs had raised the same issue Saturday and demanded action against Odisha government officials who allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group in a reported deal for the purchase of green energy.
Kadam alleged, “Above all, the people of the state have been cheated, as there was a secret deal between the company and some government officials.”
Adani group founder and chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have been summoned to explain their stand on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegation of paying $265 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in bribes to unidentified officials of some state governments including Odisha to buy expensive solar power, potentially earning more than $2 billion profit over 20 years.
The document also stated that central government entity Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), which originally awarded the solar manufacturing linked power tender, entered into the sale agreements with Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu between July 2021 and December 2021.
PTI
