Bihar: BJP's R.K. Singh alleges Rs 62,000 cr. scam in Adani power deal, seeks CBI probe

Just days before the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on 6 November, a political storm has erupted over explosive allegations made by BJP leader and former IAS officer and Union power minister R.K. Singh, who has claimed that a massive Rs 62,000 crore scam has taken place in the state’s power sector.

In an interview to ABP News cited by a report in the Financial Express, the former MP from Arrah in Bihar alleged that the state government’s electricity department had struck a deal with a private company “at highly inflated rates”, leading to massive financial losses to the public exchequer.

“This is a very big scam. An agreement has been signed with Adani that for 25 years, the government will make electricity Rs 6.075 per unit. This is the agreement they have signed. Adani has been given a lot of money to install a power plant at an inflated price,” Singh said, as quoted by Financial Express.

The former minister, who once held charge of power and new & renewable energy, alleged that the agreement guaranteed the company enormous profits over two decades and would burden consumers with artificially high tariffs.

“The return on capital is only 15 per cent. They will get that, but apart from it, the government is paying extra. Who will bear this? The public will. Rs 1.41 per unit more is being charged. This is a fraud of Rs 6,200 crore. There must be a CBI investigation,” he said.

Interestingly, the ABP News X post about the interview was apparently deleted within a few hours of being posted, leading many to question why.

Also interestingly, this is not the first time that Singh has publicly come out against his own party, though the BJP seems to have taken no action against him yet.

‘A scam dressed as a power deal’

According to the Financial Express report, Singh claimed that the agreement between the Bihar government and the company in question would translate into payments exceeding Rs 2,500 crore annually, amounting to around Rs 62,000 crore over the 25-year term. He accused several senior officials in the state’s energy department of colluding in what he described as “a fraud dressed as a power deal”.

“All of them should go to jail,” Singh said, adding that a CBI probe was the only way to determine the full scale of the alleged irregularities.

He further argued that the structure of the agreement ensured the company would not only recover its capital investment but also earn substantial additional returns “at the expense of the common people of Bihar”.

Political fallout in poll-bound Bihar

The remarks have triggered sharp political reactions and come as an embarrassment for the BJP, which counts Singh among its senior technocrats. Opposition parties have seized upon the comments, demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP clarify their position on the allegations.

Congress leader Pawan Khera posted a clip of Singh’s interview on X, remarking that “a former BJP minister is demanding a CBI probe into a scam under his own government”.

“Senior BJP leaders are openly calling for a CBI investigation into the scandal exposed by their own government,” Khera also wrote.

The company named in the allegations, Adani Power, has not yet issued any statement in response to Singh’s claims. Financial Express noted that the publication could not independently verify the assertions made by the former minister.

Timing and implications

The controversy has surfaced just two days before the first phase of polling in Bihar, with the second phase on 11 November and results to be declared on 14 November.

Political analysts quoted by Financial Express said Singh’s remarks could intensify scrutiny of power sector contracts and give the Opposition fresh ammunition during the campaign. The allegations, they added, highlight growing tensions within the BJP’s Bihar unit at a politically sensitive moment.

If proven, the alleged scam could mark one of the largest financial irregularities in the state’s energy sector in recent years.

With media inputs