New Delhi: In the 9th episode of its “Hum Adani Ke Hai Kaun” protest series that asks questions to the Prime Minister on the ongoing Adani Group issue, the Congress party has raised questions on Modi’s alleged “misuse” of foreign policy.
The three questions released on Tuesday asked whether the PM used his influence in Bangladesh to “enrich corporate cronies”.
The party said the Congress-led UPA government had signed an MoU in 2010 for the state-owned NTPC to set up a 1,320 MW thermal power plant in Bagerhat, Bangladesh.
Congress alleged that after coming to power, the BJP government helped its “Double A” friends — it was announced that Adani Power and Reliance Power would construct thermal power plants to supply electricity to Bangladesh.
“Is it true that you put pressure on your counterpart PM Sheikh Hasina to accept terms that were extremely favourable to Adani Power and unfavourable to Bangladesh, and that the cost of electricity supplied to Bangladesh from Adani’s Godda (Jharkhand) power plant is much higher than what its own thermal plants supply? Does enriching your friends at the expense of neighbouring countries further India’s foreign policy interests?” the party asked in the first question.
In its second question, the Congress trained its gun on Adani’s power plant in Jharkhand.
The party claimed that Jharkhand, in 2016, required 25 percent of the electricity produced by a power plant to be supplied to the state at discounted rates. This was reflected in its initial February 2016 agreement with Adani Power, the Congress said.
“However, in October 2016, the policy was abruptly amended to benefit Adani,” the party said.
“Is it correct that these revised terms will cost Jharkhand an additional £7,410 crore over the 25-year lifetime of the project according to a government audit report? Did the office of the state accountant general state in writing on 12 May 2017 that the agreement with Adani amounted to ‘preferential treatment’ and would give the company ‘undue benefits’? What was your role in persuading then Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das to reverse this longstanding state government policy?” read the party’s second question.
The third question also involved the Godda power plant in Jharkhand.
The Congress alleged that in February 2018, Adani Power had applied to set up the Godda power plant as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to avail of tax benefits. The party said that the Ministry of Commerce had, however, denied this request because it conflicted with guidelines that prohibited the establishment of a standalone power plant inside an SEZ.
Just the next year, the Congress said, the ministry changed its view and amended the said guidelines on 9 January, 2019. Thereafter, on 25 February the same year, the Board of Approval for SEZs approved Adani Power’s application.
“What was the role of the Prime Minister’s Office in this policy change that benefitted Adani Power to the tune of 300 crore per year via the elimination of coal import duties?” the Congress asked in its third question.
Also read: Hum Adani Ke Hai Kaun, Episode 8: Congress asks govt if Ketan Parekh still has links with Adani