Tender cancellations routine, says Ponguleti; defends son’s presence at Davos

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy defended the cancellation of Naini coal block tenders, calling it a routine process, and challenged the Opposition to point out any lapses. He also dismissed allegations over his son’s Davos visit and clarified that no government funds were spent

Hyderabad: Amid the ongoing controversy over the Naini coal block tenders, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Saturday said cancellation of tenders was a routine process and challenged the Opposition to point out any mistakes, if present.

He said tenders were cancelled when there was no proper response from bidders and described it as a regular practice. Since Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy was in Kothagudem, he should explain the alleged lapses, the Minister said during an informal interaction with media persons here.

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Responding to Opposition charges that SIT questioning was being run like a television serial, the Minister said the real serial would be telecast shortly. “All issues will be broadcast as serious episodes in the serial,” he remarked.

Stating that his son had participated in the World Economic Forum at Davos as a businessman, Srinivas Reddy said a false campaign was being run against him on social media.

“The State government has not spent a single rupee on my son’s visit to Davos. He attended the conference purely as a businessman,” he said.

The Minister also said that Tollywood star Chiranjeevi had visited Davos on a personal trip and happened to meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the World Economic Forum. The State government had no role in Chiranjeevi’s visit, he added.