Allegations of favouritism towards the Adani Group returned to the political spotlight on Monday, with the Congress claiming that the Modi government has handed over 1,050 acres of land in Bihar’s Bhagalpur at a token lease as the BJP braces for an electoral setback in the state.
At a press conference in Delhi, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the project in Pirpainti block, envisaging a 2,400-megawatt thermal power plant, was a “gift” to Gautam Adani. He said villagers had been placed under “house arrest” ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to Bihar to suppress protests against the deal.
“In Bhagalpur's Pirpainti in Bihar, 10 lakh trees and 1,050 acres of land have been given to 'rashtra seth' Gautam Adani for setting up a power plant at 1 rupee per year for 33 years. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Bihar today, the villagers there have been placed under house arrest so that they cannot stage a protest,” Khera stated.
The Congress leader said the pattern of allotments to Adani before key elections was well established. “When elections were held in Maharashtra, the power plant project and Dharavi were given to Gautam Adani just before that. Similarly, in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, projects were given to Gautam Adani before the elections. This is a very long list, and whenever the BJP feels that we will lose the election, gifts are given to Gautam Adani beforehand,” he alleged.
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According to Khera, the Bihar project was originally announced in the Union Budget with the government itself tasked to build the plant. “This is a 2,400-megawatt project with a budget of 21,400 crore rupees. Its announcement was also made in the budget. However, at that time, the government had said that it would set up the plant itself. But later, the government backed out and handed over this project to Gautam Adani,” he said.
He further alleged that the arrangement would burden consumers in Bihar. “A plant built on Bihar's land, with the state's money, generating electricity from its coal, will be sold to Bihar's people at 6 rupees per unit,” Khera said, describing it as “double loot”.
The BJP, he claimed, was guilty of hypocrisy, launching campaigns such as Ek pedh ma ke naam while devaluing farmland and displacing farmers. “Farmers were intimidated, forced to sign with a pencil, and their land was taken. Then, the electricity generated from the same plant will be sold to the people of Bihar at the rate of 6.75 rupees/unit, while for Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, this rate is 3 to 4 rupees,” Khera said.
There was no immediate response from the Union government, the Bihar administration or the Adani Group.
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