PM Modi allegedly urged President Gotabaya to grant the power project to Adani: Sri Lankan Official

On Monday, a senior Sri Lankan administrator stepped down after claiming that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had urged him to grant a 500-megawatt renewable energy project to the Adani Group due to pressure from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

MMC Ferdinando, the chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board, quickly reversed his statement, but it had sparked a political storm, with the opposition accusing Rajapaksa of facilitating “Modi’s friends’ backdoor admission” into the island nation.

Announcing that Ferdinando had stepped down, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera tweeted Monday afternoon, “I have accepted the letter of resignation tendered to me by the CEB Chairman Mr MMC Ferdinando. Vice Chairman Nalinda Ilangaokoon will take over as the New Chairman CEB.”

On Friday, Ferdinando told a Parliamentary committee that Rajapaksa had ordered him to offer the Adani Group the renewable energy project in Mannar’s northern area because Modi had allegedly put pressure on him.

Ferdinando told the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that Rajapaksa “told me that he was under pressure from Modi” and ordered him to hand over the project to Adani. He also stated that CEB had never, even on a government-to-government basis, made any unsolicited bids in the past.

Re a statement made by the #lka CEB Chairman at a COPE committee hearing regarding the award of a Wind Power Project in Mannar, I categorically deny authorisation to award this project to any specific person or entity. I trust responsible communication in this regard will follow.

— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) June 11, 2022

“Regarding the award of a Wind Power Project in Mannar, I completely refuse authority to grant this project to any specific individual or business,” Rajapaksa stated on Twitter. In this sense, I am confident that responsible communication will follow.”

The following day, Ferdinando withdrew his statement, claiming that he had become “emotional.”

While “vehemently denying” influencing anyone in awarding the project, Rajapaksa “categorically stated that he had not at any time given authorisation to award a wind power project in Mannar to any person or any institution,” in a longer statement, he “categorically stated that he had not at any time given authorisation to award a wind power project in Mannar to any person or any institution.”

The statement also mentioned that Sri Lanka is “currently in an acute shortage of power and the President desires to expedite implementation of mega power projects as early as possible. However, no undue influence will be used in awarding such projects. Project proposals for large-scale renewable energy projects are limited, but special attention will be paid to the selection of institutions for the projects, which will be carried out strictly in accordance with the transparent and accountable system by the government of Sri Lanka.”

This is the Adani Group’s third significant project in the small island nation since last year. With a 51 percent interest, it acquired the concession to develop and operate Colombo Port’s strategically important Western Container Terminal. It signed agreements for two renewable energy generating projects in March, one in Mannar and the other in Pooneryn, both in the country’s northwestern region.

The country is in the midst of a financial and political crisis, and the opposition has accused the Rajapaksa government of “pampering” Modi’s “cronies” in order to grant them “backdoor admission.”

Protests against the ruling Rajapaksa dynasty for mismanaging the economy erupted across the country in May, prompting Gotabaya’s brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign. Gotabaya, on the other hand, has refused to follow suit, and has replaced his brother with erstwhile adversary Ranil Wickremesinghe. The new Prime Minister stated that the country’s foreign reserves were just around $1 million, and the government was unable to pay for even the most basic necessities, resulting in acute shortages of petrol and other necessities throughout the country.

Since January, India has stepped in to help the southern neighbour with $3 billion in credit lines, currency swaps, and other procedures.