Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched a scathing at K Chandrasekhar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), accused the party of "looting" in crores from the state while in power.
Reddy asked whether the opposition party is ready for an investigation into the alleged corruption in the implementation of Bathukamma sarees distribution, KCR kits and other schemes during its regime in the state.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly during a debate on the state budget for 2024-25, Reddy responded to BRS member and former minister T Harish Rao.
Reddy, who is also the state Congress president, alleged that a toll collection contract of Hyderabad's Outer Ring Road (ORR) was given away for merely Rs 7,000 crore when it actually was worth much higher.
The CM said that irregularities worth Rs 700 crore were found by the Anti Corruption Bureau in the alleged scam in the sheep distribution scheme during KCR's regime. He said that such expensive discrepancies were found even before the ACB dug deeper in it, adding that the Enforcement Directorate was also involved.
The Bathukamma festival -- a sentimental event for the state's women -- was a let down for the women because of the scheme of distributing free sarees for the fest.
The women burnt the sarees because of their inferior quality, Reddy claimed. "Bathukamma is a sentiment for women in Telangana. That sentiment was also used for loot," he said.
Recalling KCR's representation of the Mahabubnagar constituency in the Lok Sabha, Reddy asked whether the former CM was not supposed to complete the projects in the district when he is the first Chief Minister of Telangana.
"If they have run the administration very honestly, I am asking. Bathukamma sarees, KCR Kits, Sheep distribution. You are claiming them to be great schemes. Are you ready for probe. I am asking them to answer," he said in the state Assembly.
Reddy also accused Harish Rao of not speaking the truth when he said that he previous BRS government fought with the central government and did not accept the suggestion to install meters to agricultural pump sets to benefit the farmers.
The Telangana Chief Minister said that the BRS regime had signed a tripartite agreement in 2017 with the state power distribution companies and the Centre.
The BRS regime had agreed to install meters to power distribution transformers and also for installing meters to domestic consumers who consume 500 units and 200 units, he was cited as saying by news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, BRS leader Harish Rao said that he will give a reply on the issue after going through the documents concerned, noting that the BRS government did not install metres to burden any farmer in the state.
It is not correct to say that the ORR contract was given away and that the government would get it back, he added.
In other matters, Reddy noted that the Metro rail would be expanded to the old city of Hyderabad in the next four years.
Responding to AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi's comments about the Metro rail network not being expanded to the old city, the CM said the state's Congress government has submitted a representation to the Centre on metro expansion.
"We gave representation to Centre on the 78 km, phase-2 (of Metro rail). We gave project report. The doubt of our friend is who is going to build. Where will the money come from? That's why, JV model between the Central and state government. The agency is going to take up this work. Joint venture between Govt of India and state government," he said.
Reddy said that the share of the Centre proposed is 15 per cent and that of state government is 35 per cent, while the remaining 45 per cent would be a loan. "Five per cent share would be the PPP model," he noted.
While speaking in the Assembly, Reddy also reiterated that the central government should not discriminate against any state.
Notably, the Telangana CM was among the 10 chief ministers who did not attend the NITI Aayog meeting, chaired by Prime Minister, in Delhi on Saturday. He had said that skipping the meet was a mark of protest against the Centre for allegedly hurting the state's rights.
