Opposition politicians from Indian states named in the US indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani (pic)denied any wrongdoing, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party said they had to answer for contracts signed while they were in power.
US authorities have charged Adani and seven others with agreeing to pay bribes to unnamed Indian government officials to obtain solar power-supply contracts in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, as well as the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, between 2021 and 2022.
The Adani Group has denied the claims made by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission as “baseless” and said it was “fully compliant with all laws”.
All the states named by US authorities were at the time ruled by parties opposed to Modi’s ruling alliance.
This includes the Congress party, which has called for Adani’s arrest and accused Modi of shielding him or favouring him in deals. Modi’s party and Adani have denied the charges.
The then-ruling parties of Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh said in separate statements on Friday that their governments had not signed any power purchase deal with the Adani Group, but had bought through a federal government agency, Solar Energy Corporation of India.
“There was no engagement with any private party whatsoever, including Adani Group,” said Pratap Keshari Deb of the regional Biju Janata Dal party, who was energy minister of Odisha during the time US authorities specified. — Reuters