Modi govt didn’t ‘pressure’ GVK to sell Mumbai Airport to Adani, Sanjay Reddy dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s accusation

GVK turned over management of the Mumbai Airport to Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. in July 2021.

The Narednra Modi administration, according to GV Sanjay Reddy, did not force GVK to hand over Mumbai Airport to the Adani Group. Rahul Gandhi’s accusations have been vehemently refuted by the GVK vice chairman.

In July 2021, GVK handed control of the Mumbai airport over to Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. Gandhi earlier alleged that the Modi government “hijacked” “India’s most profitable airport” from GVK using agencies like CBI and ED and gave it to Adani. However, Reddy told NDTV that there was no such pressure from anyone.

Prior to the sale, GVK was considering fundraising since the debt that its airport holding company had incurred while buying Bengaluru Airport was about to become due. This loan had been raised nearly 10 years earlier. Three investors were located by the company, who were interested in making investments, Reddy told the publication.

There were, nevertheless, a number of restrictions on their investment. The coronavirus epidemic started right then. The airport business was closed for three months and did not generate any money, Reddy said.

Adani approached Reddy and stated he was very interested in the Mumbai airport. He enquired as to GVK’s interest in engaging in a deal with him under the same terms and conditions, with the one exception that he promised to complete the full transaction within a month.

While denying any pressure from the Centre or agencies like the CBI or the ED, Reddy told that publication that the Adani deal happened because GVK badly needed it. “We had to repay lenders and there was no pressure from anybody else at all,” he said.

On February 7, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Modi administration had changed many rules to Adani’s advantage. “PM Modi goes to Australia and by magic, SBI gives $1 billion loan to Adani. Then he goes to Bangladesh & then the Bangladesh Power development board signs a 25-yrs contract with Adani,” he said.

The chairman of the Sri Lankan energy board revealed before the country’s legislative committee in 2022 that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had claimed that PM Modi had put pressure on him to award Adani a wind power project, Gandhi added.