Formula E race case: ACB quizzes KT Rama Rao for 8 hrs as BRS leader denies corruption in transactions

Hyderabad: BRS Working President and former minister KT Rama Rao was questioned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for nearly eight hours on Monday in connection with the alleged Formula E scam case during the BRS regime. This marked his second appearance before the investigating agency.

Amid reports of a possible arrest, party workers gathered in large numbers at both the BRS party office in Banjara Hills and the ACB office. Police deployed heavy security at both locations and temporarily locked the BRS party office, drawing strong objections from party workers and leaders.

Before proceeding to the ACB office, KTR alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was contemplating his arrest in the Formula E case. He declared his readiness to go to jail even a hundred times for decisions made to enhance Hyderabad's brand image.

KTR drew a sharp contrast between the two administrations, claiming that while the KCR government brought the Formula E race to Hyderabad and strengthened the city's prestige, the current Congress government has tarnished Telangana's reputation worldwide with beauty contests.

Speaking to media at Telangana Bhavan after the ACB questioning, KTR maintained that he had worked to elevate Telangana's prestige and committed no wrongdoing. He criticised Revanth Reddy for allegedly avoiding an Assembly discussion on the Formula E race, saying the Chief Minister fled from the discussion when he suggested debating the matter before four crore people instead of within four walls.

KTR mocked that while he was ready for a lie detector test something no political leader in the country has dared to do Revanth Reddy lacked the courage to come forward.

KTR explained that after the first year's Formula E race proved successful, the BRS government made a policy decision to ensure the second year's event was also held in Hyderabad. As part of this strategy, money was transferred to the organizing agency's bank account, details of which he provided to ACB officials.

When he questioned ACB officials about where corruption existed in this matter, they couldn't provide any answer. KTR referenced former IPS officer Praveen Kumar's statement that in his 26-year career, he had never seen ACB involvement in a case where no corruption actually occurred.

He dismissed the ACB questioning as irrelevant, saying officials asked petty questions written by small leaders throughout the day. KTR told officials that if there was pressure from government higher-ups to arrest him, they could do so boldly, adding that he was ready to go to jail again for Telangana if necessary. He emphasized that no one in BRS fears Revanth Reddy's intimidation tactics.

KTR alleged that Revanth Reddy who was caught red-handed with a bag of Rs 50 lakh in corrupt activities and spent a month in jail now harbors sadistic thoughts of trapping BRS leaders in cases and sending them to prison. He claimed this was why Revanth was calling KCR and former minister Harish Rao before the Kaleshwaram Commission while summoning him for ACB questioning.

Dismissing these as trivial cases, KTR described Revanth Reddy as a "trivial Chief Minister." He criticised Congress leaders for their inability to govern and lack of courage to fulfill promises made to people, accusing them of using diversionary politics to escape their commitments.

KTR said receiving notices in illegal cases had become as routine as old tamarind pickle and advised BRS cadre not to worry. He concluded that at most, Revanth Reddy could put him in jail for 15 days to derive sadistic pleasure but couldn't accomplish anything more substantial.