Reacting to allegations stemming from the US indictment of Gautam Adani, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila took aim at her brother and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, saying Friday that he “handed over Andhra Pradesh to Gautam Adani like a blank cheque”.
Accusing Jagan of corruption at a “global level”, Sharmila said, “He has handed over the interests of Andhra Pradesh and the people of Andhra Pradesh to Gautam Adani for a bribe of Rs 1,750 crore. Jagan’s corruption has reached a global level, and it has brought shame to the state and YSR family.”
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.
Sharmila also put forth the Andhra Pradesh Congress’s demand that all power deals in which the Adani Group is involved be cancelled. “The Adani Group should be blacklisted in AP, and all existing deals should be reviewed and cancelled,” she said.
“On one hand, Adani’s activities are bringing disrepute to India while Jagan’s dealings with him are defaming Andhra Pradesh. For bribes, Jagan handed over several projects to the Adani Group, including a stake in the Gangavaram Port,” she alleged.
The YSRCP had issued a statement earlier on Friday saying 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.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu meanwhile said in the Legislative Assembly on Friday that the state government is in possession of the indictment reports and assured that action would be taken if any irregularities are found.
