The Chennai police has denied permission for the Arappor Iyakkam protest demanding that the Union and state governments take action over the bribery and scam charges raised against Gautam Adani and the Adani Group. The protest, which was scheduled for Sunday, January 5, was denied permission citing law and order issues.
Among the demands of the NGO is a call for the Tamil Nadu government to rollback the increase in electricity tariff in the state and recover losses incurred by the electricity board from corporates like Adani, which are accused of causing the loss through alleged corruption.
Arappor Iyakkam also urged the state government to file a first information report against Adani and others on the alleged Rs 3000 crores coal import scam in the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
In May 2024, an investigation conducted by the Financial Times and Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that at least two dozen shipments of coal that arrived at the Tamil Nadu coast between January and October 2014 were initially priced as low-grade coal. However, they were later sold by the Adani Group to TANGEDCO at triple the original price.
The other major demands raised by Arappor Iyakkam are:
> The Union government must stop the practice of favouring Adani to give him the monopoly of ports, airports, cement business, coal import business, etc.
> The Union Government must file FIR and investigate the coal import scam of Adani throughout India across various electricity boards.
> The Union and state governments must investigate the bribery charges against Adani and others raised by the US government.
> The Union government should stop the practice of misusing central agencies to hand over companies to Adani.
The Chennai police said that the protest was likely to attract a large crowd that could cause traffic congestion and public disturbance, leading to law and order problems.
Responding to this, Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan said, “We submitted our request a month ago, yet they reject it citing law and order concerns. Maintaining law and order is the police’s responsibility. If the Commissioner cannot do this, he should resign. Is he serving as Adani’s agent?”
The NGO plans to organise a meeting at their office condemning Chennai Commissioner A Arun and CM Stalin for denying permission for the protest.
https://x.com/Arappor/status/1875402029847449939?t=amP12dA4L7qCZdjE6if_zA&s=19
Accusing Chief Minister MK Stalin of being a “mere puppet”, he added, “Article 19 of the Constitution grants citizens the right to freely express their opinions. We put efforts to make people aware of TANGEDCO loss by Adani’s Rs 3000 crore scam. As per court directives, protests cannot be denied permission simply on the grounds of law and order concerns.”