After the Tamil Nadu government and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Reddy has rejected US charges that government officials took bribes for a power purchase agreement. The president of the YSR Congress Party has said that the deal was between government agencies and no private parties, including the Adani Group, were involved.Â
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Mr Reddy said the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Â which is a central government-run public sector unit made an offer for power to several states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, at Rs 2.49 per unit. Pointing out that Andhra Pradesh had never bought power at a cheaper rate, the former chief minister said that other incentives were also offered to the state, including some waivers, which would have saved the government money.
The YSRCP chief emphasised that the contract was between SECI, the Andhra Pradesh government and the state power distribution company and there was no question of any other agency intervening. He said that some media houses with political motives are putting out names suggesting bribery and that he would sue Eenadu and Andhra Jyoti, which he described as controlled by Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, for Rs 100 crore.Â
