Centre Clears Prosecution of IAS Officer in Formula E Case
The Telangana Governor already sanctioned prosecution against BRS working president and former minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) in the same case
Hyderabad: The Centre has reportedly allowed the prosecution of senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar in connection with alleged irregularities in the Formula E racing case. BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao is another accused in the scam case.
The sanction came within a day of the fast-changing political scenario in Telangana – with the BJP making a grand statement as a party in waiting to replace the BRS as the principal Opposition and the Congress being further strengthened by the latest in a series of poll victories.
The saffron party had made unprecedented gains in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 but lost steam thanks to the internal rifts between the hardliners and those soft-pedalling with the BRS. Vexed with the infighting, the central leadership, according to insiders, preferred to not waste its energy and resources on the Telangana unit as state leaders themselves weren’t keen to take on the BRS.
Top sources in the BJP told Deccan Chronicle that a section of party leaders could convince the Central leadership that the time had come to go aggressive and push the BRS to the third place.
“We also have to keep in mind that the AIMIM is spreading its base and we must make quick counter moves,” said a senior party leader. The party leaders were of the view that MIM’s growth would eventually polarise the Telangana electorate.
Significantly, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had made the Centre’s delay in sanctioning prosecution against Arvind Kumar an electoral issues in the just-concluded campaign for the urban local body polls. “Arvind Kumar played crucial role in the scam and the investigation cannot be taken to its logical conclusion without Centre’s sanction of prosecution,” Revanth Reddy had said recently while speaking with mediapersons.
The Governor had in November last year allowed the ACB to prosecute Rama Rao in connection with the case.
“To avoid brazen display of support to the BRS, the BJP leaders favoured sanction of prosecution against KTR but put spokes in the progress of the case, holding back similar action against the bureaucrat,” sources in the government pointed out.
Arvind Kumar is special chief secretary, disaster management, and was earlier questioned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The case pertains to irregularities in transfer of ₹54 crore to the UK-based Formula E Racing Operations Limited.
The Centre's approval will facilitate the filing of chargesheet by the ACB in the designated court.
