HYDERABAD: Accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Union Coal & Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy of staging a “joint political drama” to divert attention from an alleged financial scandal, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday claimed the two leaders were secretly working in tandem while publicly appearing at odds over the Hyderabad Metro Rail project.
Addressing party workers in Serilingampally, Rama Rao alleged that Revanth was attempting to hand over nearly 250 acres of Metro Rail-linked land and assets worth around `30,000 crore to his family members, relatives and close associates. He further alleged that the chief minister had pressured L&T Metro Rail officials and forced them out of the state to facilitate the takeover of the assets.
The senior BRS leader claimed that the state government was trying to shift L&T Metro Rail’s debt of nearly `14,000 crore onto Telangana’s people in order to gain control of the Metro Rail assets. He alleged that liabilities that should remain with the private company were being transferred to the state, pushing the project towards financial distress. Rama Rao described the chief minister’s recent concern over the Metro Rail project as an attempt to conceal a larger financial scandal.
Questioning the Centre’s commitment to Telangana, he asked why Metro Rail expansion proposals submitted by the previous BRS government, including the Lakdikapul-Patancheru corridor, had not received approval.
He noted that the Union government had sanctioned Metro projects for several smaller cities in Uttar Pradesh while denying similar support to Telangana. He alleged that Revanth and Kishan were pretending to differ in Hyderabad while acting in concert in Delhi for political gain.
Rama Rao also claimed that Revanth had cancelled the Airport Metro project, while Kishan had failed to secure Central approval for Metro expansion. Had the Airport Metro project continued, it would have been completed by now and significantly reduced traffic congestion for lakhs of commuters, he said.
The former minister asserted that the Metro Rail project would regain momentum only after the BRS returned to power.