KTR exposes Revanth Reddy’s conspiracy over Formula-E race; presents documents proving Congress foul play
He presented crucial details about the event’s cancellation and financial transactions that were deliberately suppressed from public domain by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, and explained how the Chief Minister had played foul games to get the event cancelled and then accuse him of corruption.
Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday dropped a bomb on the Congress government, producing evidence of how a political conspiracy was orchestrated against him using the Formula-E racing event as pretext. He presented crucial details about the event’s cancellation and financial transactions that were deliberately suppressed from public domain by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, and explained how the Chief Minister had played foul games to get the event cancelled and then accuse him of corruption.
In the wake of a case filed by the Anti Corruption Bureau against him earlier in the day, Rama Rao spoke to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan and shared crucial documents including key communications between the State government and the officials of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which had filed a case for arbitration against the State government in the International Chamber of Commerce for breach of contract.
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“Formula E co-founder and Chief Championship Officer Alberto Longo met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on December 13 to discuss about the event and the latter reportedly responded positively. They also sent an email communication to the government on December 19 for confirmation and commitment to an operational delivery plan for the event by December 21, which was apparently ignored,” he said. This letter clearly mentioned that the first two instalments were paid by the previous government, and that the third instalment was not paid by the current government, which led to the cancellation, and in the process, also revealed that there was no foul play from part of the previous BRS government, Rama Rao said.
The BRS working president said Formula-E officials communicated with the government here again on December 22, citing a breach of agreement due to non-payment of the third installment by the Municipal Administration Department under the Congress regime. The Formula-E organisers had provided an opportunity to address the issue, but received no response. Following the cancellation of the event, the license fee of Rs.74 lakh was returned by the FIA to the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), but that was also ignored by the government, despite letters from the FIA to MAUD Principal Secretary Dana Kishore to take back the money. All these correspondence, and the suspicious inaction on part of the Congress government, which led to cancellation of the prestigious event, were kept secret, the reasons of which were now becoming obvious with the ACB case, Rama Rao said.
“When the transactions are clear, where is the corruption? The Congress government, instead of explaining its lapses, is using ACB to file false cases against me. This is another baseless attempt by Revanth Reddy to tarnish our reputation and corner us,” he said.
There was evidence to show that he had done nothing wrong, with every transaction being on paper and in bank records and the Formula-E letters also confirming that they were paid the first two installments, he said, wondering where the corruption was. Rama Rao also revealed that the FIA had initiated arbitration against the State government at the International Chamber of Commerce, represented by Harish Salve, but the Congress government remained silent. He stated that ACB cases would not intimidate BRS leaders, and they are prepared to fight legally and politically.
Also questioning why Revanth Reddy and the Congress were shying away from discussing the issue in the Assembly, Rama Rao said he was holding the press conference to place the facts before the people of Telangana.
“Do what you can do. I will proceed legally, and will produce the same documents before the ACB, police and the court,” he said, also stating that in fact, the ACB had no right to be part of this investigation since there was no corruption at all.
“I am confident. I have done nothing wrong,” Rama Rao asserted, also declaring that he would continue to question the Congress government on its faulty policies and broken promises.
The former Minister reiterated that the Formula-E race was brought to Hyderabad after many efforts and succeeded in attracting investments worth Rs 12,400 crore from major companies like Amara Raja Batteries and Hyundai. According to international agency Nielsen Sports Analysis, the event had brought US$83.7 million (nearly Rs.700 crore) to Hyderabad’s economy, Rama Rao said, adding that the case should actually be booked against Revanth Reddy, and not him, for getting the event cancelled.
