Friends of Congress USA call for restraint in Formula-E case, advise against ‘sensationalism’

Write open letter to Telangana CMO stating it could have severe repercussions on foreign investors, impact Congress’ national reputation

Hyderabad: In an open letter to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office and senior Ministers D Sridhar Babu, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and N Uttam Kumar Reddy, supporters of the Congress in the United States have urged to exercise caution and restraint in the Formula-E race case.

Friends of Congress USA, in the letter posted on their social media handles, have advised against “any knee-jerk reactions, particularly the arrest of the former IT minister, solely for sensationalism”.

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Pointing out the foreign investment implications of the case, they said the foreign company involved in this case was not party to the litigation.

“If corruption is alleged and the defense requests the judiciary to make the company a party, it could have severe repercussions on foreign investors, potentially leading to counter-motions and lawsuits against the government,” they said, also warning against personal and institutional humiliation of bureaucrats involved in the matter.

Most importantly, talking about political implications, they said the arrest and imprisonment of a major opposition voice could be perceived as “diversionary politics”, potentially impacting the Congress party’s national reputation, particularly in the upcoming Delhi elections.

They also pointed out that Congress ministers and MLAs could come under scrutiny, and any incidents of corrupt practices could have negative consequences.

“Any mistakes in handling this case could impact the IT and Industry Ministry, particularly if the judiciary requests transparency in the contracts and MOUs,” the open letter noted, urging the Congress government here to allow the inquiry to “proceed without any precipitous actions”.

“We appeal to the senior ministers, particularly the IT and Industry Minister, to intervene and ensure that the matter is handled judiciously, with thorough investigation and concrete evidence of corruption or quid pro quo before taking any action,” they concluded.

Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and others were also tagged in the Facebook post.