Edited by Deepali Verma
After relentlessly attacking and accusing the BJP of favouring businessman Gautam Adani, the Congress party refused to provide any explanation on why its government in Telangana signed MoUs worth Rs 12,000 crores with the business conglomerate in Davos.
During a press conference, the Congress leaders seemed to dodge answering the question about why the Telangana government signed MoUs with Adani.
When a journalist confronted asking why did the Telangana government ink a deal with the business conglomerate in Davos, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram moved the mics to spokesperson Supriya Shrinate to answer. Supriya, too, refused to answer, asserting that the press conference was scheduled to highlight the manifesto launch and the questions should be pertaining to that topic only.
The Congress-led Telangana government on 17th January signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) amounting to Rs 12,400 crore with the Adani group at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 in Davos, Switzerland.
As per a media release by Adani Group, the agreements were inked in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and Adani Group’s Chairman Gautam Adani. The MOUs take a big leap towards fostering green, sustainable, inclusive and transformative economic growth in the region.
The first MOU details that Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has pledged to invest close to Rs 5,000 crore in establishing a cutting-edge 100 MW data centre over the next 5-7 years. The data centre will treat sustainability as a priority and it will rely on renewable (green) energy sources for its operations. Generation of direct and indirect employment opportunities for 600 people is expected. The AEL is set to collaborate with local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups to develop a globally competitive supplier base for the project.
The second portion of the MOU deals with the announcement of an investment of over Rs 5,000 crore for establishing two pump storage projects (PSPs) to bolster sustainable energy solutions. The capacity of the projects will be 850 MW at Koyabestagudem and 500 MW at Nacharam.
The third MoU, signed over by Ambuja Cements, is for an investment of Rs 1,400 crore to build a state-of-the-art 6 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) cement plant in the next five years. The plant will span over 70 acres and is expected to increase Ambuja’s production capabilities, and offer employment opportunities for over 4,000 individuals, both directly and indirectly.
Adani Defense Systems and Technologies Limited has further pledged approximately Rs 1,000 crore for the coming decade to set up counter-drone and missile facilities. The investment has its focus area on establishing a comprehensive ecosystem dedicated to the research, development, design, manufacturing and integration of counter-drone and missile systems.
The Adani Aerospace Park is set to generate employment for over 1,000 people and act as a hub for these critical defence capabilities contributing to Bharat’s defence preparedness.
Notably, as per Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, Gautam Adani’s wealth soared only because the Union and state governments (specifically accusing BJP) engaged in quid pro quo deals with the business group and sold or leased strategic assets, opened new frontiers only for the business tycoon, while ignoring the other business groups – favouritism. Gandhi’s allegation further reads that this is all done illegally to favour the Adani group.
