BRS demands fair investigation into electricity purchases

BRS legislator G Jagadish Reddy said Justice Narasimha Reddy's remarks during a recent press conference appeared to be in favour of the Congress government's arguments.

Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS legislator G Jagadish Reddy raised strong doubts over the Justice L Narasimha Reddy-led Commission, accusing it of expressing biased opinions even before completing its judicial probe into allegations on power purchases. He said Justice Narasimha Reddy’s remarks during a recent press conference appeared to be in favour of the Congress government’s arguments, suggesting a foregone conclusion against the previous BRS government.

“It seems the Commission is making judgments without proper investigation. Justice Narasimha Reddy should step down if he cannot conduct a fair inquiry. All the necessary evidence has been provided,” he said, suspecting that the commission’s formation was a conspiracy aimed at tarnishing the reputation of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and to undermine his work. He asserted that the commission’s verdict was not final and did not stand legal scrutiny.

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Speaking to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan here on Sunday, the former Minister said the BRS had already addressed the concerns of Congress and BJP leaders in the Assembly when they were in power and during arguments before the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC). He reiterated that BRS was prepared for any inquiry, but had the right to express its doubts over the commission’s role in conducting an unbiased and transparent investigation.

“We are not opposing the commission or the investigation, but the manner in which it is being conducted,” he clarified.

The former Minister defended the power contracts, noting that agreements for the Chhattisgarh power contract and the construction of Bhadradri and Yadadri thermal power plants were signed with public sector companies. “We have entered into open power agreements with the Chhattisgarh State government,” he said. He asserted that Telangana did not suffer any losses as alleged by the ruling Congress and reiterated that the BRS was ready for any inquiry into the matter.

The BRS legislator demanded that to ensure fair investigation, the commission should summon Chhattisgarh former Chief Minister Raman Singh, the BHEL chairman and other public sector companies involved, to seek their response on the alleged irregularities. He stated that the power purchases were done at Rs 3.90 per unit, lower than rates at which Karnataka and Tamil Nadu procured power.