Retired IPS officer and former Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Chief A B Venkateshwar Rao, who recently declined the post of AP Police Housing Corporation chairman offered by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and announced his plans to enter politics, has now teamed up with retired IAS officer P V Ramesh to form a pressure group.
Though both retired officers are known to be close to Naidu, they have surprisingly chosen to challenge him by demanding that his government cancel the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Solar Power Corporation of India (SECI), in which Adani Energy is a partner.
On Friday, ABV and Ramesh participated in a round-table meeting held in Vijayawada to discuss the issue.
They argued that the agreement had caused significant financial losses to Andhra Pradesh and alleged that corruption was involved in finalizing the deal, thereby justifying their demand for its cancellation.
The controversy first gained attention when allegations of bribery surfaced in the United States, with American investigative agencies claiming that bribes had been directly paid to the then-chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
However, Chandrababu Naidu, who succeeded Jagan, did not aggressively pursue the matter, arguing that cancelling the SECI-Adani agreement could negatively impact investment prospects in the state. Nevertheless, he maintained that corruption, if proven, would not be tolerated.
After Donald Trump rose to power in the U.S., the case lost momentum, and the issue gradually faded from public discussion in India. However, leftist parties have occasionally revived calls for action.
Now, retired bureaucrats ABV and Ramesh have brought the issue back into the spotlight. Although P V Ramesh was once associated with Jagan’s camp, he later distanced himself and became closely aligned with TDP leaders.
Despite their political backgrounds, both are now actively pushing for the cancellation of the SECI-Adani electricity deal, reigniting the debate over the controversial agreement.
"Perhaps their intention is to expose the payment of kickbacks to Jagan, but in doing so, they have put Naidu in a difficult position, as cancelling the agreement could strain TDP’s relationship with the Centre," an analyst observed.