Hyderabad, Jan 1 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former Telangana minister K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday vowed to legally fight the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) case and the notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged irregularities in Formula-E race.
He dismissed the allegations of corruption and termed them as baseless and part of a political vendetta.
In an informal chat with the media, he reiterated that he has full faith in the judiciary and vowed to fight any unjust legal actions against him.
The Telangana High Court on Tuesday reserved its orders on a petition filed by Rama Rao, seeking orders to quash the FIR registered by the ACB.
The ACB on December 29 filed a case against KTR, senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) former chief engineer B.L.N. Reddy for alleged irregularities in organising the Formula E-car race in 2023 when BRS was in power.
The ED, which registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, summoned KTR for questioning on January 7.
The BRS leader termed the ACB case as the first case registered by the agency in a matter where there was no corruption. “Leave alone Rs 600 crore, there is not even a single paisa of corruption,” he said while alleging that the Congress government was trying to send him to jail without evidence.
The former minister said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy should also be booked for cancelling the agreement to host the Formula-E race without approval from the Cabinet. “If taking decision by me as minister for municipal administration without Cabinet approval was wrong, why have they not booked Revant Reddy for cancelling it without discussing it in the Cabinet,” he asked.
KTR called on BRS workers to intensify their fight against the Congress government’s failures and misdeeds. He urged them to work tirelessly to bring back a BRS-led government in the next elections.
The BRS leader alleged that the Congress government is working solely for the wealthy elite while neglecting the needs of the poor and marginalised communities.
KTR questioned the need for imposing self-declaration forms on farmers under the Congress’ proposed ‘Rythu Bharosa’ scheme. He accused the government of using these tactics to cut benefits and betray farmers, stating that the programme is being diluted to fit a limited budget.
KTR criticised the Congress’ year-long governance, calling it a failure marked by inefficiency and corruption. He cited examples of forced evictions, land-grabbing incidents, and policy mismanagement as evidence of the government’s anti-poor stance.
KTR announced that BRS will launch extensive outreach programmes, including a massive public meeting around the party’s foundation day on April 27 and a membership drive. He also revealed plans to conduct leadership training sessions and elect a party president later this year, affirming that BRS cadres unanimously support KCR’s leadership.
–IANS
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