HYDERABAD: Levelling serious corruption allegations against former BRS leader and ex-finance minister Eatala Rajender, who is now a BJP MP, after he deposed before PC Ghose Commission that is investigating the alleged irregularities in Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Friday demanded that the saffron party clarify if Rajender’s statement.
According to him, it was in favour of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s family -- was personal one or party’s official stance.
In a press statement issued here, Mahesh Goud said that Rajender “downplayed” KCR’s role in the project, stating that the latter had tried to shift responsibility onto the state Cabinet, claiming that the decisions regarding KLIS were made collectively.
Mahesh Goud said that it was absurd on the part of Rajender, who held the Finance portfolio during the BRS regime, to distance himself from the financial decisions made during that period.
“The whole country knows that there was massive corruption in the Kaleshwaram project,” he said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly stated that the Kaleshwaram project turned into an ‘ATM’ for the KCR family. Yet, Rajender’s statement today clearly indicates collusion between him and KCR,” he added.
The TPCC chief raised further concerns, questioning whether BJP leaders were also involved in the alleged corruption and whether Rajender’s statement was somehow linked to kickbacks from the project.
He demanded that the BJP clarify if these were the personal views of Rajender or part of the party’s official policy. He suggested that Rajender’s support for KCR was likely due to his own involvement in the Kaleshwaram project.
He went on to criticize Rajender’s claim that the estimates for the project had been revised due to public pressure. He expressed disbelief, implying that Rajender was still loyal to KCR and his party.
“Rajender has effectively acted as an advocate for KCR. It appears that KCR, Harish Rao, and Rajender have all conspired to give the same answers when questioned,” he added.