Congress MP KC Venugopal opposes handover of six airports to Adani Group

Congress MP KC Venugopal on Tuesday has claimed that the Centre's violation of norms has enabled the Adani Group to operate and develop six airports in India. This comes after the Union Cabinet had recently approved the proposal for leasing out airports as a part of the public-private partnership (PPP). Moreover, the Adani Group has also acquired a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) under GVK Group's shareholding and control.

READ: Adani Group Reaches Agreement With GVK To Acquire 74% Stake In Mumbai Airport

'Violation of norms': KC Venugopal

The Congress' Rajya Sabha MP also stated that apart from violation of norms, the Centre also ignored the advice of some of the ministries and other departments, paving way for the Gautam Adani-led group to win bids to operate six airports. The Congress has therefore opposed the Centre's decision to 'monopolise the operation of airports'. 

"Changes in norms enabled Adani group to win all 6 bids" said KC Venugopal

READ | Difficult To Cooperate With Decision To Hand Over Airport To Adani Group: Kerala CM

Congress alleges nexus between Adani Group and Kerala Government

Similarly, the Congress party in Kerala had raised concerns and laid allegations of a 'nexus' between the Adani Group and the state. The issue came after an RTI revealed that out of the Rs 2.36 crore spent by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), Rs 55,39,522 was spent as a professional fee to a law firm for bidding on the Thiruvananthapuram airport.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala in his statement said:

 "Reports of the state government seeking legal advice on bidding process from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, a firm owned by a close relative of Adani, raise concerns. If true, this shows a nexus between the state government and the Adani Group."

"By involving a firm close to Adani, it seems that the government was unable to maintain the secrecy of bidding documents," Chennithala added in the statement. 

READ: Kerala Govt Hired Adani-linked Firm For Consultancy On Auctioning Of TVM Airport

Adani Group acquires stake in Mumbai Airport

The Gautam Adani-led Adani Group had reached an agreement to acquire 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) under GVK Group's shareholding and control. As per a press release, the agreement leads to Adani Airport Holdings to acquire the debt of GVK Airport Developers, which holds 50 per cent equity stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL). The debt will be converted into equity as a result of which Adani would acquire a 74% stake in MIAL. 

READ: 'May You Sit Through & Answer On 3Cs': Congress' Ramesh To PM Modi As Parliament Convenes