TRS staged protest to stop ED probe against KTR: Revanth
The decision of the TRS MPs to boycott the Parliament for the remainder of the winter sessions has nothing to do with paddy farmers, but to prevent an inquiry against minister K.T. Rama Rao by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into an alleged
`3,000 crore land allotment scam, said TPCC president and MP A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Revanth said that he had already predicted on Monday that the TRS MPs would stop their ‘so-called protest’ in the Parliament regarding the paddy procurement row from Tuesday and return home. The boycott was part of a TRS-BJP deal, wherein the TRS MPs enacted the drama for a week to prevent other Opposition parties from having discussions regarding the farm bills and other important issues, he added.
“Although the winter session is set to last till
23rd December, TRS MPs have packed their bags to return to Hyderabad, under the directions of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who got orders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This
entire drama in the name of paddy farmers was jointly enacted by TRS and BJP using the Parliament as a stage,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said that a foreign company was allotted some land on the outskirts of Hyderabad about 15 years ago in undivided Andhra Pradesh. The allotment was done for an amount of `450 crore by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) through an open auction.
However, after the formation of Telangana state, one realtor, who also owns a TV channel, and an irrigation contractor, who are very close to KCR, forced the foreign company to sell the allotted land to them for about `300 crore. Rama Rao, as the Municipal administration & urban development minister, signed the file, allowing the transfer of land from the foreign firm to the companies owned by a realtor and a contractor, who are closely associated with KCR family.
He said that the present value of the allotted land was nearly `3,000 crore. Further, the State government was empowered to take back the allotted lands if a company fails to start its operation. But it cannot facilitate transfer of land from one company to another, whatever the reasons may be. However, KTR helped with transfer of the lands, while indulging in a `3,000 crore scam, he alleged.
Revanth claimed that the Enforcement Directorate had already served notices to the realtor and the contractor in this regard. The ED had also prepared to serve notice to KTR. At the last minute, the CM entered the scene and struck a deal with the BJP government at the Centre. As part of the ‘quid pro quo’, the case was amended from Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). While action under PMLA necessitated criminal proceedings and arrest, punishment under FEMA is confined to fine. Further, Revanth challenged KTR to prove him wrong.