Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao on Tuesday accused Telangana’s Congress government of blatantly misusing powers in awarding contracts worth ₹8,888 crore under the AMRUT 2.0 water supply scheme and sought their cancellation alleging “corruption and crony capitalism.”
“There cannot be a bigger example of crony capitalism, corruption, and abuse of power,” Rao said in New Delhi after leading a BRS delegation that met with Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday to urge cancellation of “illegal AMRUT 2.0 contracts” in Telangana.
He accused the Telangana government of facilitating corruption to benefit its leaders. Rao cited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of corruption and crony capitalism and questioned how powerful people close to the government were exploiting their connections to amass wealth.
Rao, who is popularly known as KTR, referred to tenders issued in February worth ₹1,137 crore to a joint venture of Indian Hume Pipe Company (IHP), Sodha Constructions, and AMR. He said IHP, a listed company, announced it would only execute 20% of the project, leaving 80% to Sodha Constructions, a firm allegedly linked to chief minister Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law, Sujan Reddy.
Rao questioned the ability of Sodha Constructions, which recorded modest net profits of ₹3.5 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22, to handle such large-scale projects. “Sodha Constructions… lacks the credentials to handle such large projects, raising serious questions about the tendering process,” he said.
Rao accused Revanth Reddy of using his influence as the municipal administration minister to award the contracts. He added this amounted to violations of the Constitution’s Article 191 (1) related to the office of profit, the Representation of the People Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Rao targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned why no action was taken against Revanth Reddy despite allegations. He added they agree with Modi when he says Telangana has become an ATM for Congress. Rao said they have given proof but what was the Union government doing. “PM [Prime Minister] said during Parliament elections that RR Tax was being taken. Why are they not taking action?”
He called this a litmus test for the Bharatiya Janata Party. “If you give work to families of ministers… is this not an office of profit and conflict of interest?” Rao asked.
In his representation to Khattar on Monday, Rao likened the contract allocations to the alleged scam in Congress-ruled Karnataka related to the allocation of compensatory sites to chief minister Siddaramaiah’s wife in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land.
He said the AMRUT 2.0 case was similar to the Haryana government’s alleged misuse of the law to benefit Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, in 2013.
Rao pointed out that the Constitution mandates a separation between public duties and business interests. “Awarding the AMRUT contracts to his [chief minister]’s brother-in-law amounted to a conflict of interest,” he said. He added the tender process violated the code of conduct prohibiting public representatives and their families from participating in businesses providing goods or services to the government. “If the chief minister and his family are directly involved in corrupt practices, who will blow the whistle?” asked Rao. He called for a thorough probe into the AMRUT 2.0 contracts, citing concerns that the technical and financial qualifications required for them were overlooked in the case of Sodha Constructions.