Hyderabad: Roads and Buildings (R&B) Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has openly challenged BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) to show proof for his claims about the Rs 8,888 crore AMRUT scheme contract. He urged KTR to present documents from the Central government to back his statements instead of making baseless allegations against the Chief Minister.
Speaking to the media, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy explained that the previous bidding process for the AMRUT scheme was canceled because of election code violations during the BRS regime. He also accused Gaja Constructions, one of the companies involved with the AMRUT contract, of having ties to Ramalinga Raju, who was involved in the Satyam Computer financial scandal. According to him, this suggests a link between KTR and the company.
In a separate event in Alair, the Minister claimed that KTR’s recent visit to the USA was meant to stop T. Prabhakar Rao, the former Telangana Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief, from returning to India. Prabhakar Rao is reportedly a key figure in the phone-tapping case. Komatireddy alleged that KTR was trying to keep Rao in the USA to protect his family from legal consequences.
On September 21, Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy also issued a warning, stating that legal action and a defamation suit would follow if KTR does not take back his statements against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. Ponguleti also called for an open debate on the matter. He said that if KTR’s claims were proven true, he would resign from his position. However, if KTR’s claims were false, then KTR should step down from his Legislative position.