The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has demanded that YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy come clean on the bribery charges levelled against him in the case pertaining to the indictment of the Adani group by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The US SEC had alleged that Gautam Adani met Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy in August 2021 and discussed the agreement for supply of 7000 MW of power Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing the media in Nellore on November 24 (Sunday), TDP spokesperson Anam Venkataramana Reddy demanded an explanation from the former Chief Minister on the issue.
“Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s corruption level has crossed the national boundaries. He is the first to hold a Chief Minister’s seat in independent India to be accused of corruption by a foreign court,” he said.
In a satirical move, Mr. Venkataramana Reddy also cut a cake on the stage, terming it an achievement worthy of accolades.
The TDP leader said the onus was now on the former Chief Minister to divulge the details and outcome of the one-to-one meeting he had with Mr. Adani.
“I wonder what could have they discussed in the absence of bureaucrats and the government agencies involved in the process of power purchase,” he said.
“Our Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has met several industrialists, but the outcome of such meetings in terms of project proposals and investment outlays are shared with the media in a transparent manner. We seek a similar step from the previous Chief Minister,” he maintained.
Mr. Mr. Venkataramana Reddy also pointed out that Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, when in the opposition, had represented to the State and Central electricity regulatory agencies and even moved the High Court, suspecting corruption in the Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), which, he said, had turned true in the form of SEC’s charges.
Pointing to the quantum of corruption as mentioned by US SEC as ₹1,750 crore, Mr Venkataramana Reddy wanted a full-fledged probe into all the PPAs, projecting the total amount of bribery involved at a whopping ₹20,000 crore.
Published - November 24, 2024 08:54 pm IST
