Congress faces tough questions over quid pro quo allegations against BRS in Formula-E row

Congress’ attempt to target BRS in the Formula-E case has backfired, with electoral bond purchases revealing potential quid pro quo concerns for the party itself. Critics argue if bonds indicate corruption for BRS, the same scrutiny applies to Congress and BJP

Hyderabad: By attempting to corner BRS working president KT Rama Rao in the Formula-E race case, the Congress appears to be walking into its own trap. Allegations that the BRS indulged in a quid pro quo deal with Formula-E organiser Greenko are only raising uncomfortable questions for the Congress government, which itself is vulnerable to the same quid pro quo charges.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) recently linked Hyderabad’s Formula-E race to alleged quid pro quo, claiming Greenko bought BRS electoral bonds worth Rs 40 crore before funds were transferred from HMDA for the event. However, records show Greenko also purchased bonds for the Congress, BJP, YSRCP, TDP and Trinamool Congress during the same period. In fact, Greenko bought Congress bonds worth Rs 70 lakh in April 2022, raising the question: if buying bonds equals quid pro quo, does that logic extend to the Congress too?

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If that is proof of corruption for BRS, then the same yardstick indicts the Congress and the BJP as well. Making matter worse for the Congress, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) and its affiliates, which are key beneficiaries of government contracts, have purchased Congress electoral bonds worth Rs 158 crore between 2019 and 2023. After coming to power, the Revanth Reddy government awarded tenders worth thousands of crores to these firms.

Critics are arguing that if Greenko’s bonds are proof of BRS’ corruption, does this not qualify as the same quid pro quo? The silence from Gandhi Bhavan is telling.

Introduced in 2018, electoral bonds were meant to ensure transparency in political funding but have instead triggered intense controversy. Between 2018 and 2024, bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore were purchased nationwide, with BJP receiving over Rs 6,500 crore. The Congress stands as the second largest beneficiary of electoral bonds worth more than Rs 1,300 crore. Both the parties account for 65 per cent of all bonds sold.

For the Congress in Telangana, the problem is not just the quid pro quo, but it is the perception. Each time the party comes under pressure due to governance failures, the Formula-E case or the Kaleshwaram probe resurfaces as a diversion. But this political theatre convinces no one. Instead, citizens are targeting the Congress, asking if electoral bonds are equal to quid pro quo, are not the Congress and BJP the biggest beneficiaries of it?

In the end, what the Congress projects as an attack on the BRS appears to have just boomeranged, forcing it to confront its own complicity.