TN Govt has no hand in Adani row: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: With the indictment of Adani Group in a US Court expected to generate much heat in the winter session of Parliament, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin on Monday said his government has no link and has nothing to do in the Adan row.

Talking to reporters here, he said already the Minister concerned for the Department (Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji) has clarified on the issue.

"Mr Senthilbalaji has has made it clear and put the record straight," he said.

On his reported secret meeting with Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani as claimed by Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss, the Chief Minister shot back saying he (Dr Ramadoss) has

no work and hence is issuing a statement every day against the government.

"There is no need to reply to it", he added.

Mr Senthilbalaji had on November 21 stoutly and outrightly denied that the TNEB was having any direct or commercial tie up Adani Group's power utiltiy which was caught in a legal wrangle following a case in New York court in US.

Strongly denying any tie up TNEB had with the Adani Group, he said "Let me make it plain and clear that the TNEB did not have any direct or commercial relationship with the Adani Group in the last three years since the DMK came to power".

He said the TNEB had entered into an agreement with the public sector Solar Energy Corporation of

India (SECI), a Government of India entity (an arm of the Union Energy Ministry), he said hours after

the US court indicted the Adani Group in a court on charges of bribing government officials between

July 2021 and February 2022.

Categorically ruling out illegality in the TNEB entering into a long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the SECI, he clarified that "We have signed a contract to buy 1500 MW of electricity firm SECI at a cheap rate of Rs 2.61 per unit for a period of 25 years, while claiming that the previous AIADMK regime had purchased solar power at an exorbitant rate of Rs 7.01.

Since the pact was only with the SECI, there was no question of TNEB having any commercial ties with any of the Adani group, he added.

Reacting to it, Dr Ramadoss, in a statement, demanded the DMK government to explain what had transpired at the secret meeting Gautam Adani had with Stalin at the latter's residence in Chennai

on July 10, last year and demanded a probe as the TNEB's name had also figured in the list of those who had been paid bribes by the Adani group.