Thiruvananthapuram: Power Minister M M Mani on Friday said neither the Kerala State Electricity Board nor the government had entered into a deal with the Adani Group to purchase electricity.
The minister made the statement even as the Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala’s allegations of power purchase at a higher rate snowballed into a controversy, merely four days before the Assembly polls.
A video clip being circulated on social media showed a visibly angry Mani going acerbic at a journalist, who questioned the minister about the alleged deal.
“Don’t ask me nonsense. Listen to me, and if possible report what I say. Otherwise leave. I don’t want to meet you. You know me. Ask me nonsense and I will tell whatever I feel,” Mani, apparently unimpressed by the question, retorted.
Accusing the Opposition of spreading misinformation, Mani said a central agency was providing electricity. The relevant information is available on the website of the Power Ministry. He further added that Ramesh Chennithala had gone out of his mind.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, too, rejected the Opposition’s allegation of power purchase at an exorbitant price.
Earlier, Chennithala alleged that the KSEB had signed a deal with the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited to buy 300 megawatts of electricity from the Adani Group at Rs 2.83 a unit, whereas solar energy was available for Rs 2 per unit.
The deal, the Opposition Leader said, was made under a renewable power obligation aimed at increasing the consumption of non-conventional energy.
