Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said that the state government will not accept a donation of Rs 100 crore pledged by the Adani Foundation to the state-run Young India Skills University, PTI reported.
“To protect Telangana’s honour and dignity and to avoid any unwanted controversies involving me and my Cabinet colleagues, we have decided to reject Adani’s donation,” Reddy said on Monday, according to The Indian Express. “We have not taken even a single rupee from anyone.”
The announcement comes just days after a United States court on November 20 announced the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a $265 million bribery and fraud scheme related to the Adani Group’s solar projects in India.
The Adani Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the Adani Group. Priti Adani, Gautam Adani’s wife, is the chairperson of the foundation.
Young India Skills University is a public-private partnership university in Telangana that aims to provide skill education and employment opportunities to the youth.
On October 18, Reddy announced that Gautam Adani had donated Rs 100 crore to the university on behalf of the foundation.
Following Gautam Adani’s indictment in the US, the Congress government in Telangana came under criticism from both the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party for its “double talk” on its stance toward the industrialist, India Today reported.
The Congress has long called for the establishment of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the transactions of the Adani Group. After the charges against Gautam Adani came to light, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also demanded the industrialist’s arrest.
On Sunday, a letter written by Jayesh Ranjan, who is the Special Chief Secretary and Commissioner for the Industrial Promotion in the Industries and Commerce Department in Telangana, to Priti Adani said that the state government was thankful for the donation, The Hindu reported.
However, the state government had not yet asked donors for a physical transfer of funds “since the university had not received the IT [Income Tax] exemption under Section 80G”, Ranjan added.
Section 80G of the Income Tax Act provides for a deduction for donations made to certain charitable institutions or funds.
“Though this exemption order has now come recently, I have been instructed by the chief minister not to seek a transfer of funds in view of the present circumstances and arising controversies,” the letter added.
As per a statement by the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District on November 20, the industrialist and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay over $265 million, or nearly Rs 2,236 crore, in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to obtain contracts expected to yield a profit of $2 billion, or nearly Rs 16,880 crore, over 20 years,
A judge has issued arrest warrants for the industrialist and Sagar Adani in connection with the allegations. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has also summoned Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani in connection with the allegations.
The Adani Group has denied the accusations, calling them “baseless”.
The indictment against Gautam Adani has triggered an uproar in India.