Hyderabad: Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy strongly criticized BRS working president K T Rama Rao (KTR) for alleging that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s family secured contracts under the AMRUT scheme in violation of norms. Ponguleti warned that legal action and a defamation case would be filed against KTR for his claims.
The Minister challenged KTR to an open debate. Ponguleti stated that if KTR’s claims were proven, he would resign as Minister. However, if the allegations were false, he demanded that KTR should resign from his position as a legislator.
Speaking to the media at the Secretariat, Ponguleti clarified that the tenders in question were valued at Rs 3,516 crores, not Rs 8,888 crores as KTR had claimed. He emphasized that the bidding process was transparent, followed existing norms, and was open to qualified companies.
Regarding the involvement of Revanth Reddy’s relatives, Ponguleti admitted that Srujan Reddy, a distant relative, was connected to Shodha Company, one of the three companies involved in the bids. However, he pointed out that Srujan Reddy was also closely associated with politicians from KTR’s own party, BRS. Ponguleti mentioned that Srujan’s father-in-law, Upender Reddy, had even contested against him in a previous election and lost by more than 57,000 votes.
Ponguleti further explained the need for canceling the previous tender process initiated by the former BRS government. He said the old tenders were rushed through right before the 2023 Assembly elections and did not comply with the required norms. After the new government came to power, the tenders were reissued, resulting in the project costing Rs 54 crores less than before.
The Minister accused KTR of making baseless claims without proper evidence. Ponguleti reiterated his challenge, saying, “If there is any truth in your claims, I am ready to resign. Will you resign as MLA?”
