KTR asks PM Modi to act against ‘AMRUT scam’ by Congress govt, files complaint

New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao has appealed to prime minister Narendra Modi to initiate action on the alleged AMRUT scam unearthed in Telangana.

He was speaking to the media here on Tuesday after filing a complaint with Union minister for Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on the AMRUT scam on Monday night.

KTR said that the Union Minister has promised to investigate the alleged corruption in AMRUT tenders, requesting time until the upcoming parliamentary session to gather necessary information.

"If the central government fails to address this during the parliamentary session, we will raise it in Rajya Sabha," KTR said.

‘Litmus test for BJP’

Questioning the BJP's "silence" on the issue of corruption, he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing "local corruption" despite previously calling Telangana an "ATM" for the Congress.

“Prime Minister Modi himself says that chief minister A Revanth Reddy is collecting R-R (Rahul and Revanth) tax in Telangana, causing rampant corruption. If his allegations are true, why is there silence on the AMRUT tenders’ scam? We gave all the necessary evidence for the Centre to act. This is a litmus test for the BJP’s sincerity,” KTR said.

Launching an attack on Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, KTR said, “Rahul Gandhi is always discussing corruption, crony capitalism and the misuse of power centres by wealthy individuals. I will discuss Telangana’s widespread corruption by Congress in further detail.”

What are BRS allegations against Congress on the AMRUT program?

Explaining the party claims of corruption and nepotism by the ruling Congress government, KTR said: “The Centre introduced the AMRUT program to help build infrastructure in towns having a population of one lakh or more. In February, eight packages of tenders were called under AMRUT 2.0 totalling Rs 8,888 crores. However, some tenders were awarded to CM Revanth Reddy’s family members.”

“CM Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law Sujan Reddy’s company, Sodha Constructions, won a Rs 1,137 crore tender, despite the firm lacking requisite technical and financial qualifications. There are severe concerns about the tendering process since Sodha Constructions, which made a pitiful Rs 3.5 crores in net profits in 2020–21 and 2021–22, lacks the qualifications to manage such big projects,” KTR claimed.

Congress schemes never carried out, says KTR

The BRS working president urged the Centre to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

"This is a clear violation of Article 191(1) of the Constitution and bears a strong similarity to the office-of-profit case against former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren," KTR said, adding that Revath Reddy and his Cabinet colleague Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy will also suffer the same fate, as many politicians, including Sonia Gandhi; being forced to resign from their positions for abusing power.

“The Congress government lacks the financial resources to carry out its electoral promises in Telangana but has the resources to run a phoney campaign of fulfilling them for the Maharashtra elections,” KTR said, adding that Rahul Gandhi is spreading untruths about Congress’s Telangana schemes that were never carried out.

Congress’s Telangana election promises, including the cancellation of farmer loans and providing Rythu Bharosa, are still unfulfilled, KTR said.

“Claims of improved social security pensions for the elderly, and women receiving Rs 2,500 a month, among other things, are blatantly false, he said. “They claim to care about the welfare of people, but their main goal is to embezzle Telangana funds to spread election propaganda in Maharashtra,” KTR added.

‘Monitor Telangana borders to curb unlawful flow of funds’

KTR also called for heightened vigilance by the Election Commission at the Maharashtra-Telangana border, alleging misuse of public funds for electoral influence ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.

"The Election Commission should take direct control of monitoring borders between Maharashtra and Telangana. Such intervention is essential to halt the flow of Telangana's money into Maharashtra," he said.

The BRS leader targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming he was "deceiving Maharashtra's people through misleading campaign advertisements using Rs 300 crore of Telangana government funds".

"The ruling government in Telangana is spending hundreds of crores to advertise unfulfilled promises," KTR said, urging Maharashtra voters to "verify these claims with Telangana residents".

The BRS leader recalled how the central government had previously flagged the use of funds from Karnataka's Valmiki scam during Telangana elections, but said no corrective measures were implemented.

The BRS leader also called upon Maharashtra voters to support regional parties rather than national parties like the Congress and the BJP, citing the success of regional forces in states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in challenging the BJP's dominance.

‘Congress first to engage in political horse-trading’

In response to remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on MLA defections, KTR claimed that Congress was the first to engage in political horse-trading.

He also said that Telangana’s Congress government had enticed 10 opposition MLAs, damaging democratic integrity. “Congress is complaining that MLAs are being bought like goats, but their party is the original architect of defections,” he said.

‘Minister Ponguleti abused authority’

KTR also raised concerns about state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who faces corruption allegations and is under ED investigation.

He criticized that Ponguleti abused his authority to give his son’s business, Raghava Constructions, massive government contracts.

The BRS leader demanded transparency regarding the minister's recent alleged meeting with an industrialist and questioned contracts being awarded to the minister's son's company.

"After the ED’s involvement, Adani met with the same minister, raising further questions about these associations. ...Ponguleti must disclose the details of his meeting with Adani," he said.

He asked why the BJP had remained silent about the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) raids on the minister’s houses. “File any case, deploy any agency—I am ready to face it. But can Ponguleti and Revanth Reddy say the same?” he asked.

The BRS working president responded to a query on the turmoil in Kodangal by accusing chief minister Revanth Reddy of using force to acquire land for his son-in-law’s pharmaceutical company, which sparked massive demonstrations. He denounced the villagers’ arrests as an attempt to quell the demonstrations.