KTR to Revanth Reddy: Intimidation Against BRS Won't Work

Addressing the media at Telangana Bhavan, BRS working president K T Rama Rao today said that the Congress government's attempts to intimidate BRS leaders through cheap pressure tactics would never succeed.

KTR said that former minister Harish Rao had been served notices in connection with the alleged phone-tapping case, despite both the Supreme Court and the High Court having earlier dismissed the allegations due to a lack of evidence. This and other recent developments clearly indicated that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the Congress had blatant disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law, he claimed.

The BRS working president said that the latest notice issued to Harish Rao came soon after he exposed the alleged involvement of the Chief Minister's brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy, in the Singareni tender rigging scandal.

Questioning the credibility of the phone-tapping allegations, KTR asked why no official had made a public statement if the claims were genuine, and wondered how long the Chief Minister would continue to pursue "baseless accusations". He also accused the Congress government of misleading the public by leaking false information to the media.

He said that regardless of how many notices were issued or how many Special Investigation Teams were constituted, the BRS would continue to question the failures of the Congress government. He also reiterated the party's respect for the judiciary and commitment to combating the "false and fabricated" cases.

KTR alleged that the Chief Minister's family had manipulated nine Singareni tenders, and criticised the introduction of a mandatory site visit clause, which "deviated from established norms and was imposed to favour a particular company".

KTR also said that while Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka made an announcement cancelling the Naini coal block tenders, similar irregularities were being repeated in other tenders.

He also expressed concern over the BJP's silence on the Singareni tender issue, and urged Union Minister Kishan Reddy to order a comprehensive probe under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge. He warned Reddy that failure to do so would amount to complicity in the alleged scam.

KTR reminded the Chief Minister and police officials, who he alleged were acting at the government's behest, that the BRS was poised to return to power in the State within two years, and that all the false cases would be dealt with seriously then and the officials who acted unjustly would be held accountable.