Congress under fire for allegedly using Telangana’s resources to fund Maharashtra, Jharkhand elections

These charges, levelled by different quarters, are not new, but they add to the growing scrutiny of the party's financial dealings, especially in the wake of the Musi River rejuvenation project being taken up at a mammoth Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Hyderabad: In what seems to be a recurring theme, the Congress is once again embroiled in allegations of financial misconduct, with Telangana emerging as the focal point. Indications are that Congress is using Telangana’s resources to fund elections in other States, including Maharashtra and Jharkhand as well as the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll.

These charges, levelled by different quarters, are not new, but they add to the growing scrutiny of the party’s financial dealings, especially in the wake of the Musi River rejuvenation project being taken up at a mammoth Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

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Recently, the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to seal the borders of Maharashtra with Karnataka and Telangana, alleging that hundreds of crores were flowing from these Congress-ruled States into Maharashtra. Shiv Sena spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar stated that individuals from Karnataka and Telangana were allegedly tasked with transporting large sums of money into Maharashtra to influence the Assembly elections.

This follows serious accusations, linking Congress leaders in Telangana to the Valmiki Scam in Karnataka, a case where Rs.89.62 crore from a welfare corporation was allegedly siphoned off and used to fund Congress campaigns in Karnataka and Telangana. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed cases stating that part of the siphoned funds, about Rs.20 crore, was used to purchase liquor for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana and Karnataka.

BJP leaders, including union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, have also alleged that funds from Telangana were being used to finance elections in other States like Haryana, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir. Sanjay Kumar pointing to the HYDRAA system as a key extortion method for funds from realtors where HYDRAA is targeting properties of the poor and the middle-class but not the constructions of major real estate firms and elite properties.

This week, the video of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others getting down from a helicopter went viral on social media. Opposition parties were quick to point out that the Gandhis were using the same helicopter hired by the Congress government in Telangana for official purposes including district visits of several Ministers.

Reacting to these developments, BRS working president KT Rama Rao stated that Telangana had become an ATM for the Congress. “Funding elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand from the RR Tax (Revanth Reddy Tax),” he said.

With mounting pressure, the Congress is finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the allegations of Telangana’s resources being misused for political gain in other States.