Tempo of decisions in BJP-ruled states aimed at enriching PM's ‘friends’ picking up: Congress

The Congress on Monday, 23 September alleged that two large electricity tenders in Rajasthan and Maharashtra have been designed entirely to reduce the number of bidders and to "funnel more taxpayer revenues" to the Adani Group.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the tempo of decisions in BJP-ruled states aimed at enriching "the prime minister's close friends is picking up".

"Two large electricity tenders in Rajasthan and Maharashtra have been designed entirely to reduce the number of bidders and to funnel yet more taxpayer revenues to Modani," he said in a post on X.

Both state governments have issued tenders for the combined procuring of power across thermal and solar power sources, he pointed out.

"This joined-up procurement advantages the tiny number of large players (like Modani) who operate across both sectors. Splitting the procurement into two tenders would have enabled smaller players, particularly in the renewable energy sector, to compete," he claimed.

"These tenders tie in perfectly with Modani's planned investments," Ramesh alleged.

"In Rajasthan, the tender specifies that the solar power must be procured from within the state and Modani already plans to build a solar plant in Rajasthan," he said.

In Maharashtra, the tender allows the power to be procured from anywhere nationally, aligning neatly with "planned investments by Modani" in other states, Ramesh said.

The consequences continue to be disastrous and it will stifle competition in a key industry, increase oligopolisation, and decrease the potential for lower prices in the long-term, Ramesh said.

"As always, the PM's friends will profit at the expense of consumers and taxpayers," he alleged.

And this is the kind of cronyism that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has chosen to pursue in its final days before it is booted out of power, the Congress general secretary said.

The Congress has been alleging financial regularities against the Adani Group and favours being given by the government to the conglomerate to augment its profits.

The opposition party has also been persistent on its attack on the government, since Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses in the wake of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani.

The Adani Group had dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.