Telangana CM Revanth Reddy dares KTR to proceed legally on AMRUT tenders

Refuting the allegations levelled against him by BRS working president K T Rama Rao over AMRUT scheme tenders, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday dared the former to proceed legally on the matter.

Talking to reporters in Delhi, Reddy said RamaRao is trying to make a counter-attack, without responding to the investigation into allegations of corruption during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime in the southern state.

"Investigation began into his corruption when he (Rama Rao) was in power. He wants to launch a counter-attack, without replying to that probe," the Congress leader said.

Rama Rao is "making rounds of Delhi" as part of efforts to protect himself in case the governor gives permission to the state government to register an FIR against him, Reddy claimed.

The BRS leader is making allegations against him to avoid a debate on his family's "loot", he added.

"If there is anything in the tenders, let him fight legally. Who is stopping him?" the chief minister asked.

The BRS and Rama Rao had earlier called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corrupt and vowed to "finish" it in Telangana, but the BRS working president is now submitting letters to the ministers of the saffron party, he said.

The clandestine understanding between the BRS and the BJP is now coming out in the open, he claimed.

Rama Rao on Tuesday demanded a central probe into alleged irregularities in AMRUT scheme tenders worth Rs 8,888 crore in Telangana and accused the chief minister of awarding a Rs 1,137-crore contract to his brother-in-law's firm.

The BRS leader submitted a memorandum to Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Delhi on the allegations levelled by him.

The Telangana government wrote to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma recently, seeking permission to lodge an FIR against Rama Rao over alleged irregularities during the previous BRS regime with regard to conducting the Formula-E race in Hyderabad.

Reddy took exception to BRS leaders defending those who attacked officials in Vikarabad district, instead of condemning the act.

He asserted that the state government would act tough against the perpetrators of the attack and those behind it.

Tension prevailed at a village in Vikarabad on Monday after some villagers protesting against the acquisition of their land for a proposed "pharma village" allegedly attacked vehicles of district officials.