‘Centre handed over power plants to Adani group’: Bhupesh Baghel after BJP links Oppn states to US charges

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel denied allegations levelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Adani Group “bribery case” on Thursday. He alleged that the Centre had handed over major power plants in the state to the Adani Group. He said, “The agreement with Chhattisgarh Electricity Board was done during the tenure of Raman Singh.”

US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani with being involved in a scheme to pay a bribe of over $250 million (about ₹2,100 crore) to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

What did BJP says on Adani Group 'bribery case'?

BJP leader Sambit Patra said on Thuesday that four Indian states were named in the US court when US prosecutors charged billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani. The party said the matter lasted from July 2021 to February 2022, when Opposition parties governed these four states.

BJP spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said four Indian states' names appeared before the US Court. They were Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

“At that time, Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government was in power in Chhattisgarh. In Andhra Pradesh, it was the YSRCP government at that time. In Tamil Nadu, it was the DMK government. In Odisha, it was the BJD government,” Patra said.

He added, “So, all four states that have been named in the document neither had our chief ministers nor a government supported by us. They all had governments of the Congress and its allies.”

Patra also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Adani case. He said, “Rahul Gandhi, this is not your first attempt to diminish the credibility of PM Modi. Your mother, party and you have been attempting this since 2002.”

Bhupesh Baghel denies link: ‘Centre handed over…’

On Chhattisgarh's link in the Adani matter, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said, "There is no matter relating to my tenure as CM between 2020-2023. If there was any deal between the new govt in the state and Adani, then I don't know about it..."

He put the blame on the Centre and the BJP government in the state.

"Korba Waste Power Plant, Raigarh, GMR Power Plant, Raipur and Lenco Power Plant, Korba were handed over to the Adani Group by the Centre and due to this, banks had to suffer losses. The agreement with Chhattisgarh Electricity Board was done during the tenure of Raman Singh. Sambit Patra (BJP MP) is making allegations against his own government," Baghel said.

US charges Gautam Adani

US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over $250 million (about ₹2,100 crore) in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than $2 billion in profit.

This was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project, the prosecutors have alleged. Reuters reported that US law allows pursuing foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets.

Adani and two other board members of his Adani Group “lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors”, Reuters quoted US attorney Breon Peace.

Adani group denies allegation.

The Adani group, however, has denied the charges. In a statement on Thursday, the Adani Group called US charges “baseless”.

“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,” the conglomerate said, adding that “all possible legal recourse will be sought”.

The stiff denial came after shares in the industrialist's conglomerate nosedived nearly 20 per cent in Mumbai, the morning after a bombshell indictment in New York accused him of deliberately misleading international investors.