Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing allegations of bribery against billionaire Gautam Adani, Telangana government, on Monday, November 25, announced that the group’s donation of Rs 100 crore towards the Young India Skills University, has been halted.
Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, while addressing a press conference here on Monday said that his government has not accepted any funds from the Adani Group.
“I and my Cabinet colleagues do not want to be involved in unnecessary discussions and situations that would dent the image of the state government or my own. That is why, on behalf of the state government, our official Jayesh Ranjan wrote a letter (to Adanis),” he told reporters.
“Due to the (present) situation and controversies, the Telangana government is not ready to accept the Rs 100 crore donation you (Adani) generously offered,” Reddy added.
Govt letter to Adani
In a letter addressed to the chairperson of Adani Foundation Priti Adani, the Telangana government special chief secretary Jayesh Ranjan stated that the university project had recently secured income tax exemption under Section 80G, enabling easier facilitation of such donations.
However, the Congress-run state government has decided to halt any transfer of donations towards the project in light of the recent bribery allegations against Gautam Adani.
Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, has been mired in controversy recently after the US prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with allegations of bribery and fraud.
The case involves an alleged bribe of USD 265 million (Rs 2,200 crore) to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms in solar power contracts between 2020 and 2024. The allegations also include fabricating financial records to secure funding from US-based investors and obstructing investigations.
Adani Group has denied the allegations calling them “baseless” and pledged to contest them in court.
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