KTR had accused Revanth Reddy of favouritism in awarding the work of drinking water and sewerage projects in towns under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme to Shoda Constructions Private Limited, the company owned by Soodini Srujan Reddy.
Published Sep 27, 2024 | 1:26 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 27, 2024 | 1:26 PM
KTR alleges favouritism by Telangana CM Revanth Reddy
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law has sent a legal notice to BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, demanding a public apology for defaming him.
Soodini Srujan Reddy slapped the notice on Rama Rao — popularly known as KTR — after the latter alleged that Revanth Reddy had misused his office to award AMRUT 2.0 works worth ₹1,137 crore to a joint venture involving Shoda Constructions Private Limited, the company of the chief minister’s kin.
The legal notice issued through Advocate Gautam Khazanchi demanded the former minister issue a written public apology for harming and damaging Srujan Reddy’s hard-earned reputation and goodwill.
The notice demanded that KTR issue the apology within 24 hours of receiving it, failing which appropriate legal actions, both civil and criminal, would be initiated against the BRS leader under Section 356 (dealing with defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita, 2023.
Srujan Reddy’s counsel also asked KTR to withdraw the defamatory, unfounded, and baseless allegations against his client. He demanded the removal, deletion, and taking down of the defamatory content from the social media accounts and websites he maintained and controlled and refrain from making false, malicious, and defamatory statements in the future.
Addressing reporters at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad on 21 September, KTR had accused Revanth Reddy of favouritism in awarding the work of drinking water and sewerage projects in towns under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme to Shoda. The BRS leader had said that Shoda had neither the eligibility nor the necessary wherewithal to execute the works.
He had said he suspected that the scam’s dimension was much bigger than what he uncovered since the total AMRUT 2.0 works were for about ₹8,888 crore. He said if the scam’s details were revealed, Revanth Reddy would have to resign as chief minister, as BS Yeddyurappa did in Karnataka in 2011.
KTR said that to prevent the scam from leaking out, the Municipal Administration Department, which is under the chief minister’s watch, had awarded AMRUT 2.0 works to Shoda, through Indian Hume Company Ltd (BSE: INDIANHUME).
The BRS leader had quoted sections 7, 11, and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 while stating that people’s representatives, including those holding the position of the chief minister, cannot reward family members with undue favours, and if they did, they would have to step down from the offices they hold.
KTR even said that he was ready to renounce politics if the allegations that he had made against Srujan Reddy were proved baseless. He dared the government to table all files before the chief justice of Telangana and if the latter was convinced that there was no merit in the case, he would quit politics.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
