HYDERABAD: It & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday sent legal notices to Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar for accusing him of being involved in the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) paper leakage. He warned them to face a defamation suit of `100 crore if they do not withdraw their allegations and issue a public apology.
The notices, sent by the minister’s lawyers, said both the leaders were trying to tarnish his image. “The imputations/statements will harm the reputation of my client in the estimation of others and lower the character of my client in respect of his calling. By these acts, you have rendered yourself liable for both prosecution for an offence of defamation punishable u/s 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as defined u/s 499 of the IPC and also made yourself liable for exemplary damages. Though the loss suffered by my client on account of your acts are incalculable and irreparable in terms of money, my client calculates damages at a token sum of `100 crore,” the notice said.
Earlier, Rama Rao said that Revanth and Sanjay proved their ignorance by dragging the Telangana government and him into the issue of paper leakage without understanding the autonomous nature of the constitutionally-established Public Service Commission.
Stating that there is a diabolical conspiracy by both the BJP and the Congress to stall the entire recruitment process, Rama Rao also said that MPs Bandi Sanjay and Revanth Reddy earlier termed the Telangana government’s job notifications a conspiracy and their comments that the youth should put aside their preparation and get into politics reflect the ‘deceitful mentality’ of these leaders.