Krishna Rao lashed out at BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao for dragging the names of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s family members and his own into what he described as a baseless controversy.
Hyderabad:Excise minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Thursday strongly defended his decision to complain against revenue secretary (excise) S.A.M. Rizvi, accusing the senior IAS officer of repeated insubordination and violation of administrative norms.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat late on Thursday after the Cabinet meeting, the minister said Rizvi had consistently ignored directions issued by the state government, especially on the matter of floating fresh tenders for liquor hologram stickers.
He claimed that Rizvi had received offers with a salary of over Rs 10 lakh per month from several companies in the city and in Delhi which was why had he opted for voluntary retirement. He said Rizvi’s VRS has nothing to do with his (Krishna Rao’s) complaint with the Chief Secretary.
Krishna Rao lashed out at BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao for dragging the names of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s family members and his own into what he described as a baseless controversy. He dismissed Rama Rao’s allegations that a Rs 500-crore scam had taken place in the hologram contract and that Rizvi’s resistance to it had led to his voluntary retirement. “The total value of the hologram contract itself is only `40 crore. How can a Rs 500-crore scam occur in a Rs 40-crore contract,” Krishna Rao asked.
The minister said that under the rules of business, a minister was the executive authority of the department and that secretaries were required to follow government and ministerial directions. However, the minister said Rizvi deliberately delayed key files, including those related to renewal of distilleries’ licenses, which, he claimed, caused substantial losses to the state exchequer.
“He ignored all directions issued either by the government or by me. He handed over contracts of hologram stickers on a nomination basis, violating established procedures,” Krishna Rao said.
He said that a private company had been handling the hologram sticker supply since 2013. Although its contract ended in 2019, the previous BRS government extended it on a nomination basis without calling for fresh tenders. “After taking charge as the excise minister, I found these irregularities and directed Rizvi to issue tenders as per norms. Despite 16 months of repeated reminders, he failed to act,” Krishna Rao said, adding that he had complained to Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao on October 11 about Rizvi’s conduct.
The minister said he was informed on October 22 that Rizvi had applied for voluntary retirement (VRS). “I immediately wrote to the Chief Secretary again, requesting that his VRS application not be accepted and that a detailed inquiry be ordered into his misconduct,” he said.
Taking aim at the BRS, Krishna Rao alleged that “liquor scams are a patent, brand and trademark of the Kalvakuntla family.”
Referring to Kalvakuntla Kavitha’s arrest in the Delhi liquor scam, he said, “KTR’s own sister went to jail for months in a liquor scam in Delhi. How can he point fingers at others?” He added that he had resigned both as minister and MLA during the Telangana statehood movement, and was not someone who sought money or power “like the Kalvakuntla family.”
