After Rahul, Chhattisgarh CM Baghel also blames Adani Group for rise in electricity price

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel endorsed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation against the Adani Group that it buys coal above market price due to which prices of electricity in the country are getting inflated.

CM Baghel also asked why many public infrastructural projects are bagged by the Adani Group.

"'Mines, airports, railways, everything is going to Adani. What is it that all these things are being given into the hands of Adani? Rahul Gandhi is right. If the electricity bill has increased today, it has increased because of Adani buying expensive coal," CM Baghel said here.

Rahul Gandhi made his allegation based on a report by the UK-based newspaper Financial Times.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi alleged, "In a report from the famous Financial Times, London, now we know that Adani Group has committed another fraud of Rs 12,000 crore. So now the total corruption of the Adani Group stands at Rs 32,000 crore. They over invoice their coal imports, and when the coal enters India, its price changes leading to a surge in electricity prices. These Rs 12,000 crore are getting paid from the pocket of common masses."

Rahul Gandhi further alleged that the Adani Group is involved in a direct theft of public money. "This time the theft is happening from the pockets of the public. When you push the button for a switch, Adani gets money in his pocket. Enquiry is happening in different countries, and people are asking questions, but nothing is happening in India," he said.

Earlier last week, the Adani Group had said there is a renewed attempt by the UK-based newspaper Financial Times and its collaborators to rehash old and baseless allegations to tarnish the name and standing of the Indian business conglomerate.

In a media statement, Adani Group said on October 9 that these articles were part of an extended campaign to advance vested interests under the guise of public interest.

"Continuing their relentless campaign, the next attack is being fronted by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times, who jointly with the OCCRP put out a false narrative against the Adani Group on 31 August 2023. The OCCRP is funded by George Soros, who has openly declared his hostility against the Adani Group," the Adani Group statement said. Having failed earlier, the UK daily is making another effort to financially destabilise the Adani Group by raking up an old, baseless allegation of over-invoicing of coal imports, the statement added.

Earlier this year, an American short seller Hindenburg Group had launched an attack on Adani Group in January this year through a report that allegedly claimed accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and improper use of tax havens. Post the Hindenburg report, the group had erased close to USD 150 billion in its market value.

Adani Group has been denying all allegations since the beginning of the controversy. The Adani Group had then attacked Hindenburg as "an unethical short seller", stating that the report by the New York-based entity was "nothing but a lie". A short-seller in the securities market books gains from the subsequent reduction in the prices of shares.