Jagan gave AP as blank cheque to Adani, made it Adani Pradesh: YS Sharmila

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Friday accused her estranged brother and former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of giving the state as a "blank cheque" to the Adani Group and allegedly turning it into "Adani Pradesh".

Sharmila's comments come in the wake of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani being charged by the US Department of Justice over his role in a years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for favourable solar power contracts, an allegation refuted by the Indian conglomerate.

The erstwhile YSRCP regime is embroiled in the alleged scam with claims that government officials received bribes worth hundreds of crores of rupees from the Adani Group.

"Jagan gave Andhra Pradesh state as a blank cheque to Adani and turned it into Adani Pradesh. He mortgaged the sentiments of Andhra people for a bribe of Rs 1,750 crore," Sharmila alleged, while addressing a press conference.

According to the Congress leader, Jagan's alleged corruption sparked discussions at the global level, bringing "infamy" to the YSR family and an "insult" to the southern state.

Observing that Adani is selling a unit for power at Rs 1.99 in Gujarat, she highlighted that the same service was raised to Rs 2.49 in Andhra Pradesh, adding that a 25-year deal with the conglomerate has burdened Andhra Pradesh people by Rs 1 lakh crore.

Calling for a review of every Adani deal with the state, the APCC president demanded chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu blacklist the corporate giant. Further, APCC vice president Kolanukonda Sivani noted that even as Adani's alleged financial scams are coming to light at home and abroad, damaging the country's reputation, it is surprising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent.

"Looking at Modi's style of behaviour, it is clear that he is supporting Adani. The prime minister also acted in this way when Hindenburg's sensational reports were revealed," Sivaji told PTI. Moreover, he called for the arrest of officials and politicians involved in this alleged scam.

The YSRCP has said its government had no direct agreement with Adani Group and the power sale pact signed in 2021 was between the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) and AP Discoms.