Gautam Adani indictment: Naidu assures action, BJD says charges are baseless

“I have all the reports of the indictment filed in the US. We will study them and take action accordingly. We will inform what action we will take,” Naidu said in the Assembly.

Reacting to some NDA members demanding action against former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu said the allegations against the previous YSRCP government have hurt the brand image of Andhra Pradesh. “It is sad. Our prestige has been hurt,” he said.

According to the indictment, Adani “personally met with Foreign Official 1 in Andhra Pradesh to advance the execution of PSA (power supply agreements) between SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) and AP’s state electricity distribution companies, including on or about August 7, 2021, on or about September 12, 2021 and on or about November 20, 2021”. The “Foreign Official 1”, according to the indictment, “had served as a high-ranking government official of Andhra Pradesh from May 2019 to June 2024”.

While the indictment does not name Foreign Officer 1, a filing by the Security Exchanges Commission filing does say that in August 2021, Adani “met personally with the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh…” Between May 2019 and June 2024, Jagan Mohan Reddy was the chief minister.

The YSRCP had issued a statement earlier on Friday, saying that there was no direct agreement between Andhra Pradesh power distribution companies and the Adani Group. “The state government had entered into an agreement with SECI to procure power. There is no direct agreement between AP power distribution companies and any other entities, including those belonging to the Adani Group. Therefore, the allegations made on the State Government, in the light of the indictment are incorrect,’’ the statement said.

Ripples in Odisha, Chhattisgarh

The indictment also evoked a reaction from the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, and Congress’s Bhupesh Baghel, the former Chhattisgarh chief minister. Both states figure in the indictment, with allegations that officials were bribed for securing “lucrative solar energy supply contracts”.

The Biju Janata Dal said the allegations regarding Adani Group “bribing” Odisha officials for a PSA with the SECI for the procurement of 500 MW of power are “baseless and incorrect.”

The power purchase agreement between SECI, a central PSU, and the state’s power utility Gridco was made in July 2021, when the BJD was in power in Odisha. The PSA was signed to supply renewable energy.

“The agreement was to procure 500 MW of renewable energy from SECI at the lowest rates discovered by SECI and it was between two government entities. There was no engagement with any private party whatsoever, including the Adani group,” said senior leader Pratap Deb in a statement.

The party said that to fulfil the state’s renewable energy commitments, it has been procuring renewable energy from central government PSUs like SECI and NTPC from 2011 onwards.

The GRIDCO, in its annual report for 2022-23, said it executed two PSAs with SECI to procure 400 MW of wind capacity and three PPA/PSAs to procure 410 MW of solar capacity to meet the future renewable purchase obligation target. Besides, one more PSA has been executed with SECI in June, 2023 for 600 MW wind power capacity.

GRIDCO officials did not respond to repeated calls and messages for a comment on the matter.

In Chhattisgarh, Baghel demanded that a central agency like the CBI or ED register an FIR to investigate the matter.

On Thursday, the BJP had said that the “matter pertains to the time between July 2021 and February 2022” when “Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha all had non-NDA governments… they had governments of the Congress or their allies”.

Asked about this, Baghel said, “In 2017 too, during the Raman Singh government, an agreement was done with SECI and a power plant started in February 2018 for 50 megawatts in Dhumda. I do not know to which state the electricity was going but the plant is there. After that did any plant come up here by Adani? Our government lost in December 2023 and from then until this year BJP was in power. They should reply about this.”

When The Indian Express asked Baghel about the August 2021 contract when the Congress government was in power, Baghel said, “The central government must register an FIR and investigate the matter.” Echoing Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s demand Thursday to arrest Adani, Baghel said, “Will the CBI or ED investigate this? The Central government must register an FIR and arrest Adani.”

Attacking the ruling BJP and PM Narendra Modi, Baghel said, “As Rahul ji said in a press conference, Adani and Modi will be safe if they stay united. We saw its effect yesterday… notice was served to Adani from a US court but who replied to it? Central ministers and BJP spokesperson.”