Constitute JPC if you have nothing to hide: KCR to PM
Nanded (Maharashtra), Feb 5: Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday demanded the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe Adani Group's 'scam'.
He wanted to know why the Union government was refusing to constitute JPC when it claimed nothing wrong had happened.
Addressing a news conference in Nanded, he alleged that the Centre made Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) invest Rs 87,000 crore in the Adani Group and is now pressuring it to make a false statement over its exposure in the Adani group.
"To mislead the country, LIC is being pressured to make a statement that it suffered no losses," he said, adding that the truth will come out with the JPC probe.
He pointed out that opposition parties are demanding the JPC in the Parliament.
"I am requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Such a big scam has happened. In a week, Rs 10 lakh crore was wiped out. It is not a small amount and the entire Indian banking system and LIC is involved in it. This is people's money, their investment. The entire country is angry. This should be discussed in Parliament and a JPC should be constituted. Otherwise, the country will hold you guilty," he said.
"Everybody knows (Gautam) Adani is your friend. He came to this position because of you. Will an ordinary businessman come up in the number two position in Forbes' List of billionaires? You can't hide this fact. If you have done no wrong, constitute the JPC," KCR added.
He also slammed the Narendra Modi-led Central government over the import of coal and its "love for Adani".
The BRS leader said that India has enough reserves of coal that would last for the next 120 years but the Central government is forcing states to procure imported coal, which is only supplied by the Adani group.
"The kind of love the Centre has for Adani, it should have for the people of the country," he said.
"The import of coal is cheating the country. Coal India Ltd has already stated that it has paid the required amount for the construction of a 250-km long railway track that would increase our coal production exponentially. But the Central government is not letting it happen," he alleged.
KCR reiterated that the Modi government is following the policy of socialisation of losses and privatisation of benefits.
He lashed out at the Centre for attempting to privatise LIC, which is the world's largest and better-performing insurance company.
The BRS leader promised that if the party came to power in the Centre on its own or with like-minded parties, LIC would be brought back into the public sector.
Opposing indiscriminate privatisation, KCR remarked that the government cannot run away from its responsibilities.
Stating that 95 per cent of the electricity sector should be in the public sector, he said if BRS comes to power, it would bring all electricity units being privatised by the Modi government back into the public sector.