Kejriwal attacks Narendra Modi & Congress over KG Basin stake transfer

Raising the issue of questionable transfer of stake from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation’s Krishna-Godavari Basin (KG) gas field project to a dubious company called GeoGlobal registered in Barbados and to an Indian company Jubliant Enpro Private Limited, Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday 4 December alleged that Narendra Modi government had an understanding with the Congress on the issue.


Claiming that Jean Paul Roy’s company GeoGlobal also got various contracts under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government using the stake offered to it in KG Basin, Kejriwal said that Roy seemed like a man working for Chief Minister Narendra Modi as well as the Congress. “GeoGlobal and Jean Paul Roy should be investigated,” demanded Kejriwal. Kejriwal also alleged that the stake transfer of 10 percent in KG Basin to Jubliant Enpro Private Limited, a company owned by Shyam Sunder Bhartia, was politically motivated. “Isn’t it strange that Modi grants Rs 10,000 crore illegal benefit to someone so close to Congress,” he asked. Shyam Sunder Bhartia is the husband of Shobhana Bhartia, who owns a prominent media house and was nominated to Rajya Sabha by Congress party in year 2006.

Jubliant Enpro in a statement denied the allegations and said that it won the block in international competitive bidding in the third round of New Exploration Licensing Policy of the government of India. “Jubilant Energy is a partner in the block and pays fully for its 10 percent share of expenditure," it said.
Tehelka had first raised the issue about “gifting” of the stake to GeoGlobal and Jubilant Enpro Private Limited in an investigation published in the latest issue of its magazine. Admitting that he had got the papers regarding the questionable stake transfer from Sanjiv Bhatt, an Indian Police Service officer under suspension in Gujarat, Kejriwal questioned his motives and said, “Why didn’t he or his wife Shweta Bhatt raise it?” Shweta Bhatt is contesting on a Congress ticket against Narendra Modi from Maninagar constituency.

Kejriwal also alleged that Gujarat government extended various favours to companies owned by Adani group. He claims that Modi rejected the offer of various private and public sector companies to provide cheap electricity to the state and instead entered into an agreement with Adani group. The company later “unilaterally cancelled their contract for supplying power” forcing the state to buy power from other companies at much higher rates. He also accused the Gujarat government of giving “illegal benefit to Adani to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore” by allotting land to them at throwaway prices in the Mundra village. Adani group has denied the charges calling them “motivated” and lacking in “deep understanding of the matter.”

The judges of the Gujarat High Court also came under attack by Kejriwal as he alleged that a matter regarding allocation of land to MPs and MLAs at a concession has not been heard by them for a long duration after they were also offered plots in a similar scheme floated by the government. “Barring a few judges, all the other judges accepted Modi’s offer,” he said.

Saying that the people of Gujarat do not have any option in the upcoming elections, Kejriwal said, “The upcoming elections in Gujarat are a sham. BJP and Congress are joint business partners. It is unfortunate that there is no alternative."
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main54.asp?filename=Ws041212POLITICS.asp

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