Why did Revanth Reddy order arrest of L&T Metro official?

According to his own admission, Revanth Reddy directed the police to arrest a senior most official of the L&T, that operates the Hyderabad Metro Rail, after the latter went on record stating that the Congress government's decision to provide free travel for women in RTC buses in Telangana had impacted the occupancy of the Metro Rail leading to losses to the company.

Hyderabad: Why did Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered the arrest of L&T Metro Chief Finance Officer (CFO)?

According to his own admission, Revanth Reddy directed the police to arrest a senior most official of the L&T, that operates the Hyderabad Metro Rail, after the latter went on record stating that the Congress government’s decision to provide free travel for women in RTC buses in Telangana had impacted the occupancy of the Metro Rail leading to losses to the company.

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This startling admission came from the Chief Minister during a television channel interview on Friday. He was asked whether the free bus travel scheme in Telangana was resulting in losses to the Hyderabad Metro. Defending the free bus travel scheme, the Chief Minister said the Hyderabad Metro was operated in select routes covering 69 kms in the city, while the free bus travel scheme for women was being implemented across the State.

“How many women are skipping Metro rides and boarding RTC buses? The L&T Metro Chief Finance Officer made a politically motivated statement by joining opposition parties to defame the Congress government” Revanth Reddy argued. Then he had ordered the arrest of the L&T official, following which the latter fled to Mumbai.

“If L&T team comes to Hyderabad, would you arrest them?” was the question posed to him and Revanth Reddy replied saying that the L&T management had called on him to clarify that it was indeed a wrong statement to be made by the official.

However, the penchant for arrest of those critical of him extended to a stern warning issued to the fans of Allu Arjun by the Chief Minister. Referring to the protests by the actor’s fans following his arrest, Revanth Reddy said anyone staging a protest without permission will be jailed.

Modified Telangana thalli statue:

On the issue of modification of the Telangana Thalli statue, he defended his government making changes in Telangana Thalli statue design and claimed that the “hand” was an indication of showering blessings to the people.

On being showed both the photos of the statue’s hands and asked whether the statue’s hand was meant to remind people about Sonia Gandhi’s contribution, Revanth Reddy said: “Like Gautam Buddha, Bharat Mata and Shirdi Sai Baba, the hand of Telangana Thalli is also showering blessings to people.”