The Congress party has hit back at Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for its remarks that the former (Congress) had mortgaged the interests of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) by allying with it. It is the TRS that has pushed the State into a debt trap by doling out contracts to Andhra companies, the party alleged.
Senior Congress leader and AICC spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy on Monday alleged that the TRS government had allowed escalation in the estimates of irrigation and others projects to extend undue benefits to the infrastructure companies owned by Andhra businessmen and in turn received kickbacks. He particularly took the names of two prominent infrastructure development companies executing major projects which were given contracts worth over ₹ 77,436 crore by the first Telangana government.
To initiate probe
Stating that the Congress would order a thorough probe into handing of contracts to bring out irregularities in the process of tenders, Mr. Jaipal Reddy said it was only a manipulation to give contracts illegally to the companies hand-picked by the caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members. “I have not seen such huge exploitation of public money during my 55-year career so far,” the Congress leader said addressing a press conference. The Congress, if comes to power, “will disqualify such companies”, he added.
Mr. Reddy said he had been waiting to hit back at the TRS only to find some facts and figures about the contracts doled out to a particular company and he could find that the company was given contracts worth over ₹60,400 crore in irrigation and drinking water projects. In Kaleshwaram alone, the company was given works worth ₹27,407 crore, he said, adding that the contract garnered by the company in case of Palamuru-Rangareddy was another ₹12,445 crore.The Congress leader said though he or his party was not against giving contracts to any particular company, including those from AP, their contention was against the way in which the works were given. In spite of giving away such huge contracts and adding ₹2 lakh crore debt on the State, the TRS government, which was in power till recently, had failed to provide irrigation to even one acre of land or to give the promised safe drinking water to even one household. “Water has not reached the households, but pipes have reached every village as the company which was executing the work in most of the areas in the State has a pipe manufacturing arm too,” the former Union Minister pointed out. He also made it clear that the Congress would make the matter of corruption by Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members one of the key election issues.
