JPC will be set up within one month of INDIA bloc govt formation to probe 'Adani scam': Congress
New Delhi, May 22: The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over a media report that claimed that the Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with a Tamil Nadu PSU, and said that a JPC will be set up within one month of an INDIA bloc government taking office to probe such allegations.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that a "huge coal scam" has come to light under the BJP government and through this "scam", "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite friend Adani" has looted thousands of crores of rupees by selling low-grade coal at three times the price, which the common people have paid from their pockets in expensive electricity bills.
There was no immediate reaction from the Adani group but in the past, the conglomerate has rejected all such allegations.
Financial Times, citing documents secured by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), reported that Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with the public sector Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Will the Prime Minister tell how many tempos were used to keep ED, CBI, and IT quiet on this open corruption? After June 4, an INDIA bloc government will investigate this mega scam and account for every penny looted from the public."
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said as the election momentum of the INDIA coalition accelerates, the tempo of revelations about the 'Modani Mega Scam' has also picked up.
"An investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), reported by the Financial Times newspaper, has found that dozens of shipments of low-quality, high-ash coal bought cheaply by Adani from Indonesia in 2014 were sold fraudulently at three times the price to the public sector Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) as high-quality, low-ash coal," Ramesh said.
Adani made excess profits of Rs 3,000 crore from this while the common person was made to suffer overpriced electricity and elevated air pollution, Ramesh alleged.
"This is yet another example of the impunity with which the PM's close friends have enriched themselves in the past decade by violating the law and exploiting the most vulnerable Indians as they are left to struggle for basic needs like cheap electricity and clean air," he said.
Pointing out that air pollution kills 20 lakh Indians every year, Ramesh said, "'Amrit Kaal' for the PM and his cronies is 'Vish Kaal' for everyone else".
He alleged that the prime minister may have helped Adani to stall all the investigations carried out into its illicit activities in India, but the information pouring in from Indonesia and other countries has only shown how close those investigations were to unveiling the truth before PM Modi "bailed out his partner".
"The case to permit the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to investigate Adani's coal over invoicing has languished in the Supreme Court, but the OCCRP documents show exactly how the over-invoicing and money laundering has occurred for years under the noses of India's usually overactive investigative agencies," he said.
Ramesh said previous OCCRP investigations have shown how much of the coal over-invoicing has been masterminded by Adani associates Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling.
"The proceeds of their crimes have been used to amass illegal stakes in Adani Group companies and to pump up their stock values. It is a matter of public record how other business persons similarly accused of over-invoicing coal, and that too in much smaller amounts, have been arrested without bail and had their properties attached by the ED. But Modani suffers no consequences," Ramesh said.
All this will change when the INDIA bloc government takes office next month, Ramesh said.
"A joint parliamentary committee will be set up within one month to investigate the 'Modani Mega Scam' -- the illegal over-invoicing of coal and power equipment, the laundering of Rs 20,000 crore of illegal proceeds back into Adani companies, the manner in which the Modi regime forced Indian businesses to divest their assets to Adani and the cost that Indian consumers have paid in high electricity prices and airport fees to enrich the PM's cronies. Each and every element of the Adani Mod(i)us Operandi will be thoroughly investigated," he said.
भाजपा सरकार में भीषण कोयला घोटाला सामने आया है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2024
वर्षों से चल रहे इस घोटाले के ज़रिए मोदी जी के प्रिय मित्र अडानी ने लो-ग्रेड कोयले को तीन गुने दाम पर बेच कर हज़ारों करोड़ रुपए लूटे हैं, जिसकी कीमत आम जनता ने बिजली का महंगा बिल भर कर अपनी जेब से चुकाई है।
क्या प्रधानमंत्री… pic.twitter.com/05bqI4azvh
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BJP leader Kirit Somaiya declines party appointment, says he was not consulted
Mumbai, Sep 10: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Tuesday refused to take up the responsibility as "communication chief with the Election Commission of India for Maharashtra assembly polls", stating that he should have been consulted beforehand.
In a letter to Raosaheb Danve, chairman of the party's state election campaign committee, the former Mumbai MP termed the treatment given to him as 'insulting'.
"It is wrong to appoint me as communication chief with the Election Commission of India for Maharashtra assembly polls without even discussing it with me. I disapprove of it, but you can appoint someone else for that position," read the letter.
"I am not a member of this committee, and I request you and the state president (Chandrashekhar Bawankule) not to treat me such insultingly," Somaiya added.
The letter also touched on a period in the past when the BJP, then in alliance with the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, had to sideline Somaiya as he had targeted the Shiv Sena continually over alleged corruption in the Mumbai civic body. Having won in 2014, he was denied Lok Sabha ticket in 2019, as well as in 2024.
"I have been working as a humble party worker since February 18, 2019, when BJP leaders directed me to leave the joint press conference because of Uddhav Thackeray's insistence. I took the responsibility of exposing various corrupt practices of the then Uddhav Thackeray government and also survived three near-fatal attacks, but I did my duty," he said.
"I am satisfied with the affection I have received from you during these last five and a half years. I will continue to work for the party in the upcoming assembly elections," Somaiya added.
The former Mumbai MP later also posted a message on X, saying, "I thank BJP Maharashtra for appointing me as Member of Campaign Committee and expressed Regrets and inability to do the same. I am still an active and ordinary member of the BJP and will continue to do so, but I will not join the committee."
When asked for comment, state BJP chief Bawankule said, "Somaiya is our senior leader. It is a rule in the BJP that we do not ask anyone, we delegate responsibilities. The party did not discuss with me whether I wanted to become state chief or not. I was made state chief directly."
I thank BJP Maharashtra for appointing Me as Member of Campaign Committee & Expressed REGRET & Inability to do the same
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) September 10, 2024
I wrote @cbawankule that for last 5 & 1/2 years (since 18/2/2019) I am doing BJP work as ORDINARY Member & Continue the same & will NOT join Campaign Comitee
