Kejriwal targets Modi, accuses Gujarat CM of favouring certain companies

Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday trained his guns on Narendra Modi alleging that the Gujarat Chief Minister favoured the state-based business house Adani Group on power purchase and land allotment besides giving gas fields worth Rs 20,000 crore to private companies for "free".

Questioning Modi's credentials as 'vikas purush' and claims about his honesty, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Kejriwal and his associate Prashant Bhushan levelled a series of charges against Modi targeting him for allegedly allowing Adanis to "walk away" with coal blocks without supplying power at cheaper rates as per agreements.

At a press conference in New Delhi, they accused Modi of allocating prime land in Gandhi Nagar for MPs and MLAs who in turn sold it at higher prices and land allocation to Adanis at "throwaway" prices while asking eight times the market price when Air Force approached his government for land. Rejecting the allegations, Adani Group spokesperson said they deny "all allegations/statements made by Arvind Kejriwal of AAP" against them.

Arvind Kejriwal has attacked Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. File Pic

On the gas field allocation, Kejriwal said Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) was allocated gas fields worth around Rs one lakh crore in KG Basin and Modi allegedly gave 10 per cent each of the fields to a Canadian and an Indian company "completely free of cost" with any bidding.

The Canadian company was set up by a Canadian with just USD 64 (Rs 3,200) and within six days of forming the company, Modi gave him 10 per cent stake saying they will provide technical expertise. So, from Rs 3200 worth company, it became a Rs 10,000 crore worth company within six days, he alleged.

Saying that British Petroleum had to pay around Rs 35,000 crore to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance for production sharing of gas fields in the same area, Kejriwal alleged that the Gujarat government gifted away 20 per cent stake to these companies and the value of this "gift" would be Rs 20,000 crore.

Kejriwal alleged that the Canadian has not only received benefits from Modi in Gujarat but also from UPA government. He has entered into several production sharing contracts in KG Basin, Cambay Basin, Deccan Syneclise Basin and Bikaner Nagaur basin and many of these contracts have been entered into with OIL, which is a Central PSU, he alleged.

Kejriwal claimed that both the Gujarat Chief Minister and Congress were "joint business partners" and they would not target each other as he has given largesse to them.

Alleging that Modi bought Congress silence by giving largesse to Congress, he said the state government had allotted plots of land to its MPs and MLAs in prime areas of Gandhinagar but most of them have sold these plots at much higher rates.

"The upcoming elections in Gujarat is a sham. It will be business as usual. Nothing is going to change. BJP and Congress are joint business partners. It is unfortunate that there is no alternative," he said.

Kejriwal also claimed that Gujarat IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, whose wife is contesting against Modi on a Congress ticket, gave him "some documents" regarding gas field allocations and Adanis but wondered why he or his wife did not raise the matter or gave it to Congress.

He added that the Congress did not raise its voice as its own MPS and MLAs benefitted from the deals.

Seeking to corner Modi for his alleged links with Adanis, Kejriwal alleged that he overlooked Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation's (GMDC) offer to sell electricity at Rs 2.25 per unit and entered into two long-term agreements with the Group to buy power at Rs 2.35 and Rs 2.89 per unit.

In its response Adani Group said, "The land for Special Economic Zone at Mundra was allotted following the process of law. The allegation related to coal supply by GMDC is baseless. Till date we have not received any coal from GMDC. "These baseless allegations seem to be motivated and lack deeper understanding of the matter. They do not merit further response." u00a0