VISAKHAPATNAM: Two BJP MPs made conflicting statements on reverse tendering for the Polavaram project. While former Union minister and BJP MP Y Sujana Chowdary opposed the reverse tendering, MP GVL Narasimha Rao supported the State government’s decision.
Sujana on Wednesday in Delhi said the YSRC government was passing time by delaying execution of the project and demanded a white paper on the state government’s claim of saving Rs 838.53 crore through reverse tendering.
Speaking to media here on Thursday, BJP official spokesperson Narasimha Rao supported the government’s decision to go for reverse tendering. He said the government believed it could save Rs 200 crore by opting for reverse tendering of the headworks of Polavaram project. He said there was a clause in the MoU that there was an option to change the contractor but it should abide by the deadline. He said owing to reverse tendering there should not be further delay and quality should not be compromised while saving money. He said the BJP did not have any political tie-up with the YSRC government in the State.
Referring to PPAs in power sector, Narasimha Rao said Union Power Minister RK Singh urged the State government not to revisit PPAs on the basis of ‘apprehensions of irregularities’. The MP said the minister, however, felt that any action on power projects will hit the investors’ confidence at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seeking foreign investments. Narasimha Rao said there should be an overall investor-friendly climate. He said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a series of steps to attract more FDIs in various sectors and also to overcome economic slowdown. The decision of slashing corporate tax was widely welcomed by the industry, he said. The Modi government also took the historic decision of abrogating Article 370, he said, adding, the BJP would not have any tie up with the regional parties as the party wanted to consolidate its strength.