‘My name not mentioned anywhere’: Ex Andhra CM Jagan Reddy on Adani bribe row | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In his first reaction to the charges leveled against him, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday dismissed allegations regarding the payment of bribes to Andhra Pradesh officials by the Adani Group for solar power purchases during his party-led government (19-24). The YSRCP chief said that the deal was purely between government agencies and claimed that there was no third party involved in the power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
‘The bribery charge is all hearsay, and nobody has said that I or anyone else has taken bribes,’ he said, according to news agency PTI.
The YSRCP chief defended the state’s power deal with SECI, saying he had met Adani several times during his tenure as CM of Andhra Pradesh, adding that there was nothing ‘unusual,’ as it is ordinary for businessmen to meet heads of states.
This comes after the US court’s indictment order on Adani, which mentioned a high-ranking official of Andhra Pradesh allegedly being involved, and subsequent demands from opposition parties to reveal details of his alleged meeting with industrialist Gautam Adani.
The YSRCP chief clarified that his name was not included in the US court’s indictment and denied any claims of receiving incentives. “Nowhere it mentions that incentives were offered to me because there is no way anybody can offer incentives to me, first of all. And businessmen meeting heads of states is not unusual. This in fact is an ordinary practice,” he said.
The former CM said that the power supply agreement with the SECI had resulted in the state saving over Rs 1 lakh crore over 25 years.
Jagan also announced plans to file a defamation suit worth Rs 100 crore against certain local newspapers for allegedly distorting facts and publishing misleading stories on this matter.
Adani group denies allegations
Recently, the US Department of Justice charged Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani for his alleged involvement in a long-running scheme to bribe Indian officials with substantial sums in exchange for favorable solar power contracts. The Adani Group has denied these allegations.
“The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied. As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, “the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.” All possible legal recourse will be sought. The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws,” the Adani group said after allegations surfaced.
On Wednesday, calling media reports of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations against the executives ‘incorrect,’ Adani Green Energy said in a statement that “media articles state that certain of our directors namely Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have been charged with violation(s) of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment. Such statements are incorrect.”