Revanth Reddy on Telangana Govt Declining Rs 100 Crore Funding from Adani Foundation
Government prosecutors in the United States have accused Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, of paying bribes worth Rs 2,000 crore. Adani, along with his nephew Sagar Adani and seven others, is accused of offering bribes totaling Rs 2,029 crore ($265 million) to government officials in India to secure contracts for supplying solar power.
These accusations have also started to impact Indian politics. Amid this controversy, the Telangana government has made a significant decision by rejecting a Rs 100 crore donation from the Adani Foundation. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy shared this decision on Monday.
Telangana’s Special Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Industrial Promotion, Industries, and Commerce Department, Jayesh Ranjan, sent a letter to Preeti Adani regarding this matter. In the letter, he wrote:
“We are grateful to you for offering Rs 100 crore from your foundation to Young India Skill University. However, as the university has not yet received IT exemption under Section 80G, we have not asked any donors to transfer funds so far. Although this exemption has recently been granted, we have been instructed by the Chief Minister not to accept the funds, considering the current situation and the potential controversies that may arise in the future.”
What Did the Chief Minister of Telangana Say?
The Telangana government and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy faced criticism from the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and BJP following Adani’s indictment in the US. Addressing this on Monday, Reddy clarified:
“To protect the honor and dignity of Telangana, and to keep myself and my cabinet colleagues away from unnecessary controversies, we have decided to reject Adani’s donation. We have not taken even a single rupee from anyone.”
Last week, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, speaking in the Assembly, stated that action would be taken if any irregularities were found in the state related to the allegations against Adani. Against this backdrop, the Telangana government has rejected the Adani Foundation’s donation.
In Andhra Pradesh, some NDA leaders demanded action against former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Reacting to this, Chandrababu Naidu remarked that the allegations against the YSRCP government had tarnished the brand image of Andhra Pradesh.
