GVK boss refutes Rahul Gandhi's allegation on Mumbai airport sale to Adani Group

G V Sanjay Reddy, vice-chairman of the conglomerate GVK, on Tuesday refuted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's comments that the Modi government tweaked rules in favour of the Adani Group.

Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha that the government tweaked rules in favour of Adani and said that the clause that no one without any prior experience would be involved in the development of airports was done away with.

''This rule was changed by the government and Adani was given six airports. After that India's most strategic, profitable airport, Mumbai Airport, was taken away from GVK using agencies like the CBI, ED, and was given to Adani by the government of India,'' he alleged.

"There was absolutely no pressure from the Adani group or anyone else to sell Mumbai airport," Reddy told a news channel on Tuesday.

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd took over Mumbai airport from GVK in July 2021.

"Let me explain the background to this transaction. You know, maybe a year before that (sale) itself, we were looking at fundraising because in our airport holding company we had raised debt nearly 10 years ago, when we acquired Bengaluru airport and that debt was becoming due. So we were talking to investors and we had tied up with three investors," Reddy told NDTV.

"... They together agreed to invest in this company, which will help us prepay the debt. However, they had many conditions like any international investor would have and then we were hit by Covid. For three months, the airport business was shut and we had zero revenue. It put more financial pressure on us, and so we were trying to work with them to complete the transaction quickly. But it was not happening," said Reddy

"So around the same time Gautam (Adani) bhai approached me and he said he has a lot of interest in Mumbai airport and whether we are willing to do a transaction with him at the same terms and conditions - the only difference being that he said he will ensure he will conclude the entire transaction in one month, which was very important for us," Reddy said while denying any pressure from government agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Enforcement Directorate.

Leading the Opposition attack over the Adani-Hindenburg issue in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday linked Gautam Adani's meteoric rise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's coming to power and said ''magic'' happened after 2014 that propelled the businessman from the 609th to the second spot on the global rich list.

On the particular allegation by Gandhi in parliament that GVK was forced to sell Mumbai airport to the Adani Group,  Reddy said, "As far as I am concerned we had done this deal with Gautam Adani because of the fact that it was the need of the company. We had to repay lenders and there was no pressure from anybody else at all. As far as other aspects of what is being said in parliament, I would not like to comment as I would not like to get into the politics on it."

"See, I know Gautam bhai for some time, and the transaction was very smooth because one thing I find with him is that he deals directly - he does not bring anybody with him. It was him and me, just the two of us. It took us about a week to be able to close everything. It was very simple, very straightforward. We did not have a lot of condition, the time frame was very specific so that we could conclude it quickly and take care of the lenders, which was the top priority. And he also gave comfort to the lenders by saying he will do this fast so they need not worry. So my dealing with him has been excellent, no issues at all. Whatever was committed, whatever was the understanding, we kept it up, we concluded," Reddy said.

Posing questions for the prime minister, Gandhi asked how many times has he travelled together on a foreign trip with Adani.

''How many times did Adani ji join you later on a visit? How many times Adani ji travelled to a country immediately after you visited the country? How many times has Adani ji bagged a contract in a foreign country after your visit there?'' Gandhi said.

He asked how much money Adani has given to the BJP in the last 20 years, including through electoral bonds.