Soon after assuming power in Telangana, Revanth Reddy in January, signed an MoU with the Adani Group for investments of up to ₹12,500 crore.
Published Aug 17, 2024 | 7:11 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 17, 2024 | 7:11 PM
Revanth Reddy signed MoUs with Adani Group Chairman, Gautam Adani. (X)
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy seems to be caught in a Catch-22 situation with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) deciding to hold a nationwide protest outside Enforcement Directorate offices in all states, demanding the ouster of SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
The AICC called for the protest on 22 August after Hindenburg Research, a US-based firm known for its investigative report and short-selling strategies, accused the Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson and her husband of holding stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
Responding to the AICC’s call, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) decided to hold protests, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the allegation.
TPCC senior vice-president and MLC B Mahesh Kumar Goud confirmed that the party would organise protests in the state. However, he is unsure if the TPCC president, Chief Minister Reddy, would attend. “We have to see whether the chief minister would participate in the protest or not,” he said.
It is the dilemma Reddy seems to be facing.
The Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in Telangana has been at the receiving end of BRS criticism for dealing with the Adani Group, despite his party’s stand against it at the national level.
Soon after assuming power in Telangana, Reddy in January, signed an MoU with the Adani Group for investments of up to ₹12,500 crore.
The group had agreed on the setting up of Pumped Storage Projects, Data Centers, Counter Drone Systems, and Missile Development and Manufacturing Centres at the Adani Aerospace and Defence Park, apart from a Cement Grinding unit in the state.
Besides, Adani Group had also agreed to support the chief minister’s goal of creating skilling universities in Telangana. Apart from the investments, the Adani group has also been entrusted with the collection of electricity bills in the Old City of Hyderabad.
“The state government signing MoUs in Davos with the Adani Group, and entrusting it with the collection of power bills in the Old City have nothing to do with the protests. Both are different. It is a party programme decided by the AICC and we have to follow it,” Kumar said.
Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly criticised the Adani Group, dubbing it as “corny capitalists”.
Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh on Friday, 16 August, said “Hindenburg is only the tip of the iceberg” and its allegations are limited to those that deal with the capital markets.
“The demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the Adani Mega Scam goes far beyond the revelations made by Hindenburg Research’s reports.
“Irregularities and wrongdoings relating to the Adani Group span every dimension of the political economy, as documented in our 100-question series HAHK (Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun),” Ramesh said in a post on ‘X’.
When it comes to Telangana, it seems, the Congress is caught in a conflict of interests — a charge it has levelled against Buch.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
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