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Bengal govt working with Adani to build deep-sea port, TMC minister clarifies
West Bengal industry minister Shashi Panja dismissed the claims by the BJP leaders that the Adanis have withdrawn from the deep-sea port project at Tajpur
The West Bengal government is working with the Adani Group to build a deep-sea port at Tajpur in East Midnapore district, Shashi Panja, the state’s commerce and industry minister, said on Sunday, dismissing claims by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that the Adanis have withdrawn from the joint venture.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Panja said: “The Bengal government and the Adanis are very much working together on the Tajpur project for which the Union home ministry has already given a conditional clearance. The home ministry and the ministries of port and defence have sought several clarifications. Our government and the Adani Group are working on these issues right now. Those unaware of such details will obviously speak rubbish.”
Speculations on the project started when Gautam Adani, the company’s founder, and his son, Karan, did not attend the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) held in Kolkata on November 21 and 22 although both were invited to the annual event started by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Banerjee’s inaugural address before the foreign delegates and top Indian industrialists, such as Reliance Group’s Mukesh Ambani, stoked the speculations because she invited the participants to join a global tender for the Tajpur project although it was known that the Adanis had already got the contract.
The BGBS was held days after the Lok Sabha committee on ethics recorded the statements of Delhi-based lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey in the probe against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in the bribe for questions allegation.
Dubey alleged that Moitra took bribe from industrialist Darshan Hiranandani for raising questions in the Lok Sabha about Gautam Adani’s businesses.
Hiranandani initially denied the charge but later claimed in a signed affidavit that Moitra targeted Adani to “malign and embarrass” Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has often been accused by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of favouring the Adani Group.
Moitra, who now faces a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has denied the allegation and continues to raise questions about the Adani group.
Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya claimed that TMC leaders are trying to confuse people on the Tajpur issue.
“The TMC declared long ago that the Adani Group would build the port. If that is true, then what prompted the chief minister to declare a global tender? If the chief minister is correct, then why is Shashi Panja reiterating today that the Adanis were given the contract?” said Bhattacharya.
Gautam Adani and his son have met Banerjee at least twice since 2021.
In December 2021, Gautam Adani met the chief minister at her chamber in Nabanna, the secretariat, and held discussions for around 90 minutes. Banerjee also invited him to inaugurate BGBS 2022 in Kolkata.
