Live
- Former CM S M Krishna cremated with state honours
- Gali Janardhana Reddy announces gold-plating of Anjaneyaswamy Temple tower
- Private practitioner found operating from govt clinic
- PM stresses on thinking out-of-the-box in every sector
- Lokayukta cracks down, seizes illicit assets worth crores
- Farmers protest over delay in canal repair
- Amid continuing furore, five more maternal deaths occur in State
- Fostering a robust innovation
- New AP tourism policy hailed
- Village that gave land for Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, a picture of apathy
KTR rebuts Jairam’s charges
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao on Tuesday warned Congress leaders of stern action if they continue to level baseless allegations against the TRS government.
Hyderabad: Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K T Rama Rao on Tuesday warned Congress leaders of stern action if they continue to level baseless allegations against the TRS government.
At a press conference in the TRS Legislature Party office here on Tuesday, KTR said it had become a habit for the Congress leaders both at the Centre and state to make baseless allegations against the TRS government.
He challenged former Union minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh either to prove the allegations that the TRS government had favoured the company of Venkaiah Naidu's son or his daughter's NGO as alleged by Jairam Ramesh on Monday. “If he cannot prove the charge, he should tender an apology to the people of Telangana,” the minister said.
KTR said the TRS government had procured the vehicles based on the rates finalised by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), which fixes the rates procured by the defence and other government departments. These rates were fixed during the UPA government. He said his government had directly contacted the Toyota company and not any particular dealer.
Similarly, the minister said there was nothing wrong in giving tax exemptions to Venkaiah Naidu's daughter’s NGO. The Congress government in the unified Andhra Pradesh too had given similar exemptions to various NGOs. He said the TRS had given exemptions to the National Investigation Agency as it was setting up its office in the city and to the Basavatarakam Cancer hospital.
Regarding the Himanshu Motors, KTR said that he had a stockyard depot of tractors and added that the company was closed in 2006. He said he was ready to give away the company to Jairam Ramesh or TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy if they prove that the company was still owned by him. “If you cannot prove the allegations, apologise and withdraw the statements,” said KTR.
The minister also dismissed the allegations levelled by Uttam Kumar Reddy on the existence of sand mafia. He said the income through sand mining has increased from Rs 10 crore during the Congress regime to over Rs 374 crore in just one year after the TRS came to power.
He said the government is expecting a revenue of Rs 600 crore through sand mining in the current financial year. He said the statistics of revenue clearly shows that the sand mafia was active during the Congress rule and the state exchequer had lost over Rs 4,000 crore.
He claimed that the TRS government had curbed illegal sand mining and in Sircilla alone, nearly 200 cases were registered against the sand mafia.Replying to a question, KTR also denied that the police had used third degree methods against Dalits. He said of the 12 arrested only four were Dalits.
