Rajya Sabha polls: TRS picks Hetero Group chief, Telangana Publications MD

Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Wednesday announced the candidates for three vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state. The party gave tickets to billionaire Hetero Group chairman and managing director Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy, businessman-turned-politician Vaddiraju Ravichandra, and Telangana Publications Groups chairman and managing director Damodar Rao Deverkonda.

TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao finalised the names on Wednesday.

It should be recalled that on 6 October 2021, the Income Tax searches against Hyderabad-based Hetero labs had led to a seizure of Rs. 142 crores, while the estimated amount of unaccounted cash amounted to around Rs. 550 crores.

The anti-tax evasion wing of the Income Tax department carried out searches against the giant group on 6 October at 50 locations across six states with Hyderabad as its epicentre.

The Hetero Pharmaceutical Group is engaged in the business of manufacturing of intermediates, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and formulations. A majority of the products are exported to foreign countries, primarily the USA, Europe, Dubai, and African countries.

Also, Dr. B. Parthasaradhi Reddy has donated 5 kg gold to the newly-inaugurated Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Yadadagirigutta. Last year, Dr. Reddy was appointed a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the body which administers Tirupati's Lord Venkateswara temple.

Hetero Drugs also figures in a CBI charge sheet filed against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the disproportionate assets case, which is going on at a special CBI court in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the other TRS candidate Damodar Rao is the chairman of Telangana Publications Private Limited which publishes the daily Telangana Today and Namasthe Telangana.

Vaddiraju Ravichandra, who is the president of Telangana Granite Quarry Owners Association, has been given the third ticket from TRS. He joined the TRS in 2019. He had contested on a Congress ticket from the Warangal East Assembly constituency in the 2018 Assembly elections.