Opposition Pressure Forces Government to Backtrack on GNA Power Deal

Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan had raised serious questions at a press conference, demanding the release of all documents and files related to the agreement with private platform GNA to clear the doubts surrounding the deal. He alleged that there were serious issues behind the agreement and said people suspected corruption in the transaction. The government, however, had no response to his questions.

The opposition’s strong intervention against what it described as a corrupt deal forced the government to withdraw from the GNA agreement. The opposition challenged the UDF’s claim that the state was facing a severe power crisis, alleging that Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s move to procure electricity at inflated rates through GNA had been thwarted. Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan, along with P Rajeev, Binoy Viswam and other leaders, strongly opposed the deal. Power sector experts also pointed out its shortcomings. Faced with mounting criticism, the government temporarily stepped back from the agreement.

The UDF government had allegedly intended from the outset to make a commission through an illegal transaction without the approval of the Regulatory Commission or a tender process. Even after two KSEB directors publicly expressed dissatisfaction and indicated their willingness to resign, and the media and power sector experts pointed out that electricity was available, the Chief Minister was unwilling to back down.

The proposed transaction was worth Rs 1,566 crore. The GNA deal was expected to create an additional financial burden of at least Rs 727 crore, including the procurement of additional power during peak hours. Despite this, the Chief Minister announced that he had approved the GNA deal at rates of up to Rs 8.90 per unit.

Pinarayi challenged Satheesan’s position by highlighting how it differed from the stand taken by the Electricity Board and the minister. He also pointed out that Minister Sunny Joseph had noted in the file that procuring electricity from Himachal Pradesh would be preferable. He further disclosed that the KSEB had officially written to the government warning of financial losses from the GNA deal.

Pinarayi questioned where the pressure to purchase electricity from GNA without transparent procedures or a tender had come from, and why the government was showing such interest in a company facing a SEBI investigation. The government withdrew from the GNA deal only after allegations of corruption had come under intense scrutiny