Continuing its anti-corruption campaign, party cites inflated bills from power firms importing coal

Former Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday demanded a special investigation team (SIT) to probe allegations of 40 Indian companies — especially private power companies — submitting inflated bills for coal imported from Indonesia. The imports have reportedly resulted in a ₹29,000 crore scam.

“Among the prominent companies that have been issued show-cause notices by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is Prime Minister’s favourite industrialist Gautam Adani. It also includes the capitalist associated with the Rafale deal, Anil Ambani... Essar is also there…We must also remember that 70% of the coal that is imported is done through the Adani group,” said Mr. Ramesh.

Reacting to the charges, a spokesperson for the Adani group said,“The Adani Group does not believe in wrongdoings. But since the matter is sub-judice, we do not wish to comment.”

Since UPA regime

The controversy dates back to October 2014 when the DRI, under the Ministry of Finance, launched an investigation into alleged “over-invoicing of coal imports” by 40 companies since 2005-06 for a period of, at least, five years.

Asked to comment that charges relate to a period when the UPA was in power, the former Minister said, “A scam is a scam and there should be a thorough probe on when and how it happened…The charges are based on a preliminary DRI inquiry and the law should be the same for everyone.”

The charges are being contested at different courts. Last week, the Adani group approached the Bombay High Court for a stay on the DRI’s request to examine their documents of coal imports from Indonesia through Singapore-based firms.

But that has not stopped the Congress from raising it as “yet another case of corruption” under the present regime.

In the past one month, the Congress has carefully tried building a narrative of corruption against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government by focussing on the Rafale deal, the C&AG (comptroller and auditor general) report on Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and is now targeting the Adani group.

“For the last three years, we have been consistently raising issues that makes a complete mockery of the PM’s claim that he is providing a clean and transprant administration. Whether it is the GSPC scam, the Rafale deal or the deal concerning power companies, there is abundant evidence to show that certain favourite industrialists have been given undue advantage,”said Mr. Ramesh.

Days after the Congress scaled up its corruption campaign, a fresh case against Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, was registered over irregular land allotment.