Will Cooperate With ED Probe: Nama Nageswara Rao

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had issued summons to TRS leader and MP Nama Nageswara Rao in connection with a Rs 1,064 crore bank fraud case.

During a press interaction, Nageswara Rao today responded on the matter of the summons and the recent raids that were conducted by ED officials at some offices of the Madhucon Group owned by him. He claimed that the people of Telangana were aware of the fact that he had always tried to be honest and upright as a public representative.

The MP said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao too had shown faith in him and had made him the parliamentary leader of the TRS. He added that he would continue to work hard to keep intact the faith that the CM and the people had placed in him.

Rao clarified that he would stand by the CM notwithstanding the difficulties he was currently facing, and said that while KCR was his "strength", the people of his constituency were his "team".

Commenting on his company, the leader stated that he had established it four decades ago, and that it had gone on to complete several prestigious projects successfully. He pointed out that the company had completed the Mumbai to Mangalore road project and had laid roads on some of India's borders with China as well.

Rao then said that his brothers had been looking after the company for some time now as he was occupied with his political career.

Talking about the project which caused him all this trouble, he claimed that the Ranchi Expressway Limited (also a Madhucon Group company) and the SPV-BOT project was started with 30% equity in the year 2011, and that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) needed to hand over 80% of the land for the project after the execution of the agreement and 100% of it within 90 days of the agreement.

The MP then alleged that the NHAI had failed to hand over the requisite land to the company even after seven years of the agreement, and stated, "60% of the work has been completed as per the availability of land and only 10% is currently pending."

He revealed that he would appear before the ED on June 25 in relation to the same case and assured the media that he would extend all the cooperation he could to the ED probe.

The probe, sources say, has been ordered after allegations of the diversion of funds from the Ranchi Expressway Limited came to light.