Hyderabad: BRS working president and former minister K.T. Rama Rao demanded on Monday that the Congress government reveal full details of any money he received in connection with the then BRS government conducting a Formula E car race in Hyderabad.
Doubling down on his claim of no wrongdoing in the issue, Rama Rao, during an informal chat with reporters at Telangana Bhavan, said any cases filed against him would be dealt with legally and that he would not be cowed down by the government filing cases as it pleases just because it has the power to do so.
He also said, “There was no corruption at all, not even that of a single rupee in the entire issue. Since the case is in the court, I cannot say more on this, but I have filed in the court seeking a quashing of the FIR lodged by the ACB.”
Rama Rao added there may be more than meets the eye regarding a meeting with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had with Formula E race organisers. “Why is he not taking any action on Formula E organisers if there was corruption? I have suspicions that the Chief Minister may have received kickbacks,” Rama Rao alleged. He also said that the Chief Minister was “blackmailing officials for revealing his pictures taken with the race event organisers.”
Rama Rao, who was then municipal administration minister when the Formula E race was held in the city, is facing a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on issues related to transfer of government funds. He also said he has received notices from the directorate of enforcement in the case. “I will stand by what I have been saying from day one on this issue. I took decisions as a minister in the government. The money was paid to ensure Formula E prix does not go away from Hyderabad and to ensure that the reputation of the city and Telangana are not affected,” he said.
