Press Note Eng Dt: 06/03/2011 on Eros Energy
Click here to view / download press note.
OFFICE OF THE LEADER OF OPPOSITION
Gujarat Vidhansabha, Gandhinagar.
Press Note Dt. 06-03-2011
Gujarat Government without inviting tender or bid has given away 200 hectares of land and a 25 MW solar power plant project to a London based industrialist who has been recommended by Harish Salve. This has been done by Narendra Modi because he is embroiled as accused in supreme court case where Salve is amicus curaie and his opinion can matter.
Congress Legislative Party leader Shaktisinh Gohil has said that London based Eros Energy has been given this project after it was recommended by Harish Salve, senior supreme court advocate.Mr Gohil has said this is clearly a DEAL struck by Gujarat government because Harish Salve is the amicus curaie in cases directly involving Chief Minister Narendra Modi. An amicus curaie’s opinion is very important and Mr Gohil has said that this deal has been struck to influence and oblige the Amicus because Mr Modi is guilty and is scared of Supreme court. Harish Salve is the same person who is right now also fighting Ratan Tata’s case that his conversations with Nira Radia should not be made public. This man who is defending Nira Radia and Ratan Tata is now being favoured by the Narendra Modi government.
Mr Gohil said that an amicus curaie is the Friend of the Court. He is supposed to be balanced, unbiased and completely objective. Harish Salve was appointed amicus curaie in case which has Narendra Modi as an accused. An amicus curaie is supposed to be very important link and so Harish Salve has been obliged to save Mr Narendra Modi.However Mr Gohil has said that instead of being supreme court’s friend and trying for justice in public interest, he has become a “friend” of Narendra Modi government.Shaktisinh Gohil has demanded that the power plant deal be scrapped in public interest and in interest of justice. Also Harish Salve should resign from this case.
Mr Gohil has disclosed details of the murky business in which Chief Minister’s office and Modi’s close men including his principal secretary K Kailasnathan and his additional principal secretary home Girishchandra Murmu are directly involved.Giving details of the sensational scam, Mr Shaktisin Gohil said.Harish Salve first discussed a project and then wrote to Tushar Mehta, Gujarat’s additional advocate general giving him entire details of the power plant project. Tushar Mehta forwarded the mails to Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s office. He also gave personal numbers of Kailasnathan and Murmu to Harish Salve. Harish Salve wrote to them and chief minister’s officer on special duty Sanjay Bhavsar. Every where that Tushar Mehta wrote, he mentioned that this is the project that Harish Salve has recommended.It must be noted that before Harish Salve’s recommendation, the Eros Energy officials had already met energy department’s D J Pandian and others but were not getting favourable response. However, after Harish Salve got into the picture, the power plant was cleared .This is a clear deal.
Mr Gohil gave word to word details of this shady deal
This is how the Eros Energy deal played out. On 27 April 2010, Daniel Coyle, a senior official of Eros Energy, wrote to Harish Salve on his email id harish@hsalve.com <mailto:harish@hsalve.com> : “Dear Harish. as discussed, Please find attached a letter from Eros Energy to Shri Narendra Modi with an expression of interest document outlining our plans for Gujarat. Best Regards. Daniel.” The mail was copied to Kishore Lulla and Eros Energy Group CEO Sean Hanafin.On 28 April, Harish Salve forwarded Lulla’s project report and his letter to Modi to the Gujarat government’s Additional Advocate General Tushar Mehta on his email id tusharmehta99@yahoo.co.in <mailto:tusharmehta99@yahoo.co.in> . He wrote: “Dear Tushar. Attached is a note on the solar project. Best wishes.” (THIS MEANS this issue was discussed between TuSHAR Mehta and Harish Salve because it does not give any background and directly the letter and project report::: an observation by Shaktisinh Gohil)
On 29 April, Mehta forwarded Salve’s email along with Lulla’s project report and letter to Girishchandra Murmu, the additional principal secretary to the chief minister, on his email id gcm1@rediffmail.com <mailto:gcm1@rediffmail.com> . He wrote: “Dear Shri Murmu. Please find enclosed herewith a letter sent to me by Shri Harish Salve along with the project report of Eros Energy. Regards. Tushar Mehta.” Mehta wrote this mail at 10.02 pm.Within four minutes, at 10.06 pm, Mehta emailed back to Salve: “Dear Shri Salve. As discussed, please find the mobile phone numbers of the following: 1. Shri K Kailashnathan, IAS, principal secretary to the chief minister, 9978406003. 2. Shri Girish Chandra Murmu, IAS, additional principal secretary to the chief minister, 9978406119. With Regards. Tushar Mehta.”Further to this email correspondence, on 4 May 2010, Mehta forwarded Salve’s email along with Lulla’s project report and letter to Sanjay Bhavsar, officer on special duty to the CM, on Bhavsar’s email id osd2cm@gmail.com <mailto:osd2cm@gmail.com> . He wrote: “Dear Shri Sanjaybhai. Kindly find herewith the mail received from Shri Harish Salve. Please do the needful.”The same day, bhavsar wrote back to Mehta: “Dear Sir. Received your mail. I will reply you shortly (sic). Thanks.”
Mr Gohil has said that Eors Energy has been given this project just because Gujarat government viewed it as Harish Salves’s project and Harish Salve had to be obliged because he is amicus curaie. Mr Gohil said that in public interest the Eros energy deal should be scrapped and Harish Salve should resign.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————–