The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it does not have information regarding Adani Group’s founder- chairman Gautam Adani’s visit to Chennai in July in response to an RTI query regarding officials the industrialist in the city, people familiar with the matter said.
A Chennai-based anti-corruption organisation, Arappor Iyakkam, had filed the RTI on December 10 addressed to the directorate of information and public relations (DIPR) if they have a list of public servants who met Adani in Chennai on July 9 and 10. They released the DIPR’s response on Wednesday, that the “department has no information”.
Arappor said that they will protest in Chennai on January 5 to pressurise the central and state governments to register FIRs and conduct investigations into allegations involving Adani companies across India.
“Generally, when big businessmen and others come here to meet government officials, we keep seeing the press and public relations department releasing photographs of them. But it is very surprising that they do not have any information about which public servants Gautam Adani met,” Arappor said in a statement. “Have Gautam Adani’s meetings been held secretly without the press and public relations department knowing?”
This comes amid chief minister M K Stalin refuting allegations that he had met Adani in Chennai in July. The allegations began after the billionaire industrialist was indicted by a US court for bribery of Indian government officials in various states including Tamil Nadu.
{{/usCountry}}This comes amid chief minister M K Stalin refuting allegations that he had met Adani in Chennai in July. The allegations began after the billionaire industrialist was indicted by a US court for bribery of Indian government officials in various states including Tamil Nadu.
{{/usCountry}}Chief minister in the assembly on December 10 asserted that he did not meet Gautam Adani in Chennai while questioning if the BJP will support a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) against Adani.
“Adani did not come to meet me. I have not met Adani either,” Stalin said responding to a question raised in the assembly by GK Mani, a leader of NDA ally, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). “Electricity minister Senthil Balaji has already explained in a detailed manner about all the false news on Adani’s connection with Tamil Nadu. INDIA bloc has asked for a JPC probe on the charges against Adani. My question to you PMK and BJP is, are you prepared to support us for a JPC?”
Balaji has responded twice on the issue stating that DMK government has not signed any direct agreements with Adani but only with the Solar Power Corporation India (SECI) as directed by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy.
In November, PMK founder S Ramadoss had alleged that Stalin and Adani had held a secret meeting in Chennai in July at the former’s residence. This came after reports emerged that Adani was in Chennai in July but no information has been made public about the purpose of the visit or whom he had met.
When questioned about this, Stalin at the time had said that he doesn’t have to respond to jobless people. He had also reiterated Balaji’s statement that there is no commercial link between the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and the Adani Group companies.
On December 6, Balaji released a 10-page statement warning legal action against those spreading “rumours” that Stalin and Adani met. Tamil Nadu signed an agreement with SECI to purchase 2,000 MW of solar power from 2020 to 2021 and in 2023 that had been approved by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC), Balaji had said.