KTR accuses Telangana Cong government of misuse of powers in awarding contracts | Latest news India

Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao on Tuesday accused the Telangana Congress government of brazen misuse of powers in awarding contracts worth Rs ₹8,888 crore under the AMRUT 2.0 water supply scheme and sought its cancellation on grounds of ‘corruption and crony capitalism’.

“There cannot be a bigger example of crony capitalism, corruption and abuse of power,” Rao said in New Delhi after leading a BRS delegation that met Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday to press for the cancellation of “illegal AMRUT 2.0 contracts”. Telangana.

He accused the Telangana government of facilitating corruption for the benefit of its leaders. Rao cited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of corruption and crony capitalism and wondered how powerful people close to the government exploited their connections to amass wealth.

Rao, popularly known as KTR, was referring to tenders issued in February ₹1,137 crore to a joint venture of Indian Hume Pipe Company (IHP), Sodha Constructions and AMR. He said IHP, a listed company, had announced that it would execute only 20% of the project, leaving 80% to Sodha Constructions, a company reportedly linked to Prime Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law Sujan Reddy .

Rao questioned the fortunes of Sodha Constructions, which posted a modest net profit ₹3.5 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22, to handle such large-scale projects. “Sodha Constructions… does not have the qualifications to handle such large projects, which raises serious questions about the tender process,” he said.

Rao accused Revanth Reddy of using his influence as municipal administration minister to award the contracts. He added that this amounted to violations of Article 191(1) of the Constitution relating to the Office of Profit, the Representation of the People Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rao wondered why no action was taken against Revanth Reddy despite allegations. He added that they agree with Modi when he says Telangana has become an ATM for the Congress. Rao said they have provided evidence but what did the Union government do. “PM (Prime Minister) said during the Assembly elections that RR Tax was taken. Why aren’t they taking action?”

He called this a litmus test for the Bharatiya Janata Party. “If you give work to ministers’ families… isn’t this an office of profit and conflict of interest?” asked Rao.

In his representation before Khattar on Monday, Rao compared the contract awards with the alleged scam in Congress-ruled Karnataka involving the allotment of compensatory sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife in Mysuru, which had a higher property value compared to the site of her country. .

He said the AMRUT 2.0 case was similar to the Haryana government’s alleged misuse of the law in favor of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra in 2013.

Rao pointed out that the Constitution requires a separation between public duties and business interests. “Awarding the AMRUT contracts to his (chief minister’s) brother-in-law amounted to a conflict of interest,” he said. He added that the tender process violated the code of conduct that prohibits public representatives and their families from participating in companies that supply goods or services to the government. “If the Prime Minister and his family are directly involved in corrupt practices, who will raise the alarm?” asked Rao. He called for a thorough investigation into the AMRUT 2.0 contracts, citing concerns that the technical and financial qualifications required for the same were overlooked in the case of Sodha Constructions.