Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that a "huge coal scam" has come to light, referring to a media report that claimed that the Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with a Tamil Nadu PSU.
Congress, meanwhile, said that a JPC will be set up within one month of an INDIA bloc government taking office to probe such allegations.
Claiming that a "huge coal scam" has come to light under the BJP government, Rahul Gandhi said, through this "scam", "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite friend Adani" has looted thousands of crores of rupees by selling low-grade coal at three times the price, which the common people have paid from their pockets in expensive electricity bills.
A Financial Times report, citing documents secured by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), said that Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with the public sector Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
There was no immediate reaction from the Adani group but in the past, the conglomerate has rejected all such allegations.
In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul Gandhi said, "A huge coal scam has come to light under the BJP government. Through this scam that has been going on for years, Modiji's favorite friend Adani has looted thousands of crores of rupees by selling low-grade coal at three times the price, the price of which the common people have paid from their pockets by paying expensive electricity bills."
"Will the Prime Minister tell how many tempos were used to keep ED, CBI, and IT quiet on this open corruption? After June 4, an INDIA bloc government will investigate this mega scam and account for every penny looted from the public," he added.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said as the election momentum of the INDIA coalition accelerates, the tempo of revelations about the 'Modani Mega Scam' has also picked up.
"An investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), reported by the Financial Times newspaper, has found that dozens of shipments of low-quality, high-ash coal bought cheaply by Adani from Indonesia in 2014 were sold fraudulently at three times the price to the public sector Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) as high-quality, low-ash coal," news agency PTI quoted Ramesh as saying.
Adani made excess profits of Rs 3,000 crore from this while the common person was made to suffer overpriced electricity and elevated air pollution, Jairam Ramesh alleged.
"This is yet another example of the impunity with which the PM's close friends have enriched themselves in the past decade by violating the law and exploiting the most vulnerable Indians as they are left to struggle for basic needs like cheap electricity and clean air," he said.
Jairam Ramesh said all this will change when the INDIA bloc government takes office next month.
"A joint parliamentary committee [JPC] will be set up within one month to investigate the 'Modani Mega Scam' -- the illegal over-invoicing of coal and power equipment, the laundering of Rs 20,000 crore of illegal proceeds back into Adani companies, the manner in which the Modi regime forced Indian businesses to divest their assets to Adani and the cost that Indian consumers have paid in high electricity prices and airport fees to enrich the PM's cronies. Each and every element of the Adani Mod(i)us Operandi will be thoroughly investigated," he said.
