DKS Rushes To Brief Rahul Gandhi After Adani Meet

Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi for about half an hour on August 27 and discussed, among other things, his meeting with Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on August 23. DKS apparently clarified to Rahul that he met Adani in his official capacity. He told Rahul it was not a personal matter, citing Adani Group’s investments in the state. Why did he have to clarify, Congress leaders asked? Was Rahul unhappy that his meeting with Adani had become a controversy? The BJP has accused the Congress of double standards and hypocrisy. Many leaders questioned Congress-run state governments’ engagement with the Adani Group, given Rahul’s frequent public criticisms and attacks on the conglomerate at the national level. DKS maintained that Adani met him because he had become CM and “they are doing a lot of work in Karnataka, giving jobs.” Adani met the CM at his Sadashivanagar residence in Bengaluru. It raised eyebrows in political and business circles, because Gautam Adani is the lowest bidder for the State government-proposed road tunnel project in Bengaluru. Adani Enterprises Ltd’s bid for the proposed road tunnel project was Rs 22,267 crore, while the State government estimate was Rs 17, 698 crore — Rs 4, 600 crore above official expectation. The proposed 16.75-km tunnel road is to link the area from Central Silk Board to Hebbal in Bengaluru city; the proposed road tunnel project will be implemented under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model. In addition to being the lowest bidder for the tunnel project, Adani Group operates Mangalore International Airport in Dakshina Kannada, the Udupi Thermal Power Plant, and is also investing in renewable energy.