Chennai Police denies permission for protest against Adani

Chennai: Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO that had in the past exposed several scams in Tamil Nadu, has been denied permission for a protest on Sunday to demand the Union and state governments to act against Adani Group for supplying poor quality coal to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO).

Chennai Police, in a letter dated January 3, communicated to the NGO that a permission to hold a hunger strike and protest on January 5 at Valluvar Kottam cannot be granted due to “possible traffic congestion and public disturbance that leads to law and order problem.”

The protest was planned to demand the governments to investigate allegations of scam and charges of bribery levelled against Adani Group and its chairman Gautam Adani. Arappor Iyakkam maintains that citizens are made to pay more in terms of electricity bills because of irregularities by the Adani Group.

The NGO wants the state government to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the Adani Group for causing a loss of Rs 3,000 crore to TANGEDCO between 2013 and 2016 by supplying poor quality coal. Jayaram Venkatesan of the NGO had been filing petitions before the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in this regard and the agency is in fact probing the complaint.

“Commissioner A Arun IPS is violating the Constitution to favour his political bosses. Rejecting fundamental rights of citizens is a great disservice to the country and its people. You are here to serve us! Resign if you cannot serve us,” Venkatesan wrote on his X page, after the Chennai Police denied permission for the protest.

However, he said Arappor Iyakkam will hold a condemnation meeting against Chief Minister M K Stalin and Police Commissioner Arun at its office on Sunday.

“The CM is a mere puppet. Article 19 of the Constitution grants citizens the right to freely express their opinions. We are only creating awareness among the people about the losses incurred by TANGEDCO due to Adani Group. As per court directions, protests cannot be denied permission simply on the grounds of law and order concerns,” Venkatesan added.

The development comes after the move by the government also comes after Gautam Adani was indicted by a US court for promising bribes to Indian government officials between July 2021 and February 2022 following which electricity distribution firms from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir entered into pacts with SECI for purchase of solar power.

Following Adani’s indictment by a US court in November, Tamil Nadu Energy Minister V Senthil Balaji had said TANGEDCO doesn’t have any “business relationship” with the Adani Group and that the state government entered into an agreement only with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for purchase of solar power at a “cheap price.”

The minister said the TNEB signed an agreement with SECI, a public sector undertaking of the Union Government, for purchase of solar power at Rs 2.61 per unit. He also said the TNEB didn’t sign any direct agreement with Adani Group after the DMK government assumed office in May 2021.