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New Delhi/Bengaluru, Nov 22 (PTI) The opposition chorus demanding the arrest of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, after he was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud, grew louder on Friday while Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, an ally of the BJP-led government at the Centre, promised to act on the alleged irregularities.
Stepping up the attack, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents across the country held press conferences to raise the demand for Adani's arrest and launch an investigation against him, a day after Rahul Gandhi made the assertion.
Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of an elaborate scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts in four Indian states.
The Adani Group has denied the charges, saying the allegations by US prosecutors are baseless and that the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It also said it will pursue all possible legal recourse.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Naidu said in Amrawati that the state government is in possession of the "chargesheet reports" filed in the US related to the alleged bribery scam involving the previous YSRCP government and the Adani Group, and “promised” to act on the irregularities.
The previous YSRCP regime is embroiled in the alleged scam with claims that government officials received bribes from the Adani Group.
Addressing the Assembly, the chief minister said his government will study those charges and act on them.
"I have all the chargesheet reports filed there (US). It is in the public domain. Will study it (the allegations and indictment). Will act on it and inform you,” said Naidu.
The YSRCP has dismissed the allegations made against the government headed by it and said there was no direct agreement with the Adani Group.
After calling for the arrest of Adani, Rahul Gandhi asked people on Friday to understand the "dangerous game" of corruption, in which the public is the end loser.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Centre to immediately take action against Adani and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of shielding him. He said the Congress will raise the issue during the upcoming Parliament session and demand an inquiry.
"We will raise the issue in Parliament and we will demand an inquiry. As he (Adani) is in India, action should be taken against him, he should be arrested. The government knows everything, so they should quickly take action against him," Kharge told reporters in Bengaluru.
"Home Minister Amit Shah has ED, CBI with him. Despite having all these agencies, why is no inquiry being done? Last time when we raised the issue following the Hindenburg report they were dismissive about it, saying it is a foreign thing, it is false," he said, asking why the PM is silent against Adani.
In what seems to be comments directed at Modi, Kharge said, "Claiming to be just and clean in speeches is not enough, your conduct should also be clean..."
In Patna, RJD president Lalu Prasad came out strongly in support of Rahul Gandhi's demand for Adani's "immediate arrest".
"Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested," said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.
The RJD president, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is out on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.
The ailing septuagenarian replied, "I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power."
Meanwhile, Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh announced at a press conference that the party's state unit will take out a protest march on Saturday "against unethical practices of the Adani Group which have brought the country into disrepute".
"We cannot allow the country's reputation to be tarnished... the uncovering of the scandal has caused bond prices of the Adani Group to crash. It is the hard-earned money of the common people," the former Union minister fumed.
In Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila accused her brother and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of giving the state as a "blank cheque" to the Adani Group and allegedly turning it into "Adani Pradesh".
"Jagan gave Andhra Pradesh state as a blank cheque to Adani and turned it into Adani Pradesh. He mortgaged the sentiments of Andhra people for a bribe of Rs 1,750 crore," Sharmila alleged while addressing a press conference.
Andhra Pradesh BJP president D Purandeswari, meanwhile, said the allegations emanating from the US against the Adani Group raise serious questions and claimed that all those linked to these allegations are associated with the Congress party.
In Bhubaneshwar, the BJD which was in power in Odisha from 2000 till June 2024, said the allegations that state government officials took bribes from the Adani Group for supply of renewable energy to the state from the central pool, are "false and not based on fact."
Former Odisha Energy minister and BJD MLA PK Deb said, "The types of allegations made in the name of Odisha are baseless and not based on facts."
"We in Odisha have privatised the power distribution while other states are doing the job directly. Here Tata Power is doing the distribution part of the electricity supply", he said, adding that the agreement may involve Adani, SECI, Gridco and the distribution company.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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