KTR Appears in Formula E Case Court as BRS-Congress Assets Row Escalates
KT Rama Rao appeared before the Nampally ACB Special Court in the Formula E case, calling the Congress government's focus on the Opposition 'malicious propaganda'.
The political standoff between Telangana's ruling Congress and the opposition BRS sharpened on Friday, as BRS working president KT Rama Rao appeared before the Nampally ACB Special Court in connection with alleged financial irregularities in payments made for the Formula E race held in Hyderabad in 2023, when the BRS was in power.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau has accused KTR and other officials of financial and procedural violations. KTR has denied any wrongdoing and said he would cooperate with the judicial process.
Speaking to the media after his appearance, KTR said the Congress government had concentrated on targeting the Opposition rather than governing since coming to power three years ago. He alleged that the government was attempting to harass KCR and BRS leaders, and urged it to focus instead on delivering its manifesto promises to farmers and students.
He pointed to unfulfilled commitments, including the Rs 2 lakh farm loan waiver, Rs 15,000 Rythu Bharosa and crop bonus, and said pending fee-reimbursement dues had not been cleared. He also said farmers were protesting over electricity supply in the state.
On the Formula E case, KTR defended the race as an initiative that enhanced Hyderabad's profile and drew investment into the electric-vehicle sector. He said he had appeared before the court twice and would continue to cooperate whenever required.
KTR also accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of targeting KCR and his family through what he described as malicious propaganda, and challenged him to agree to an inquiry by a High Court or Supreme Court judge into the assets of both families.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, a close aide of the Chief Minister, stepped up his own allegations, sharing KCR's 2004 Karimnagar Lok Sabha election affidavit on social media. He noted that the affidavit declared no agricultural or non-agricultural land and questioned how the former chief minister's landholdings later expanded. He also challenged KTR's claims about ancestral landholdings and posted documents in support of his allegations.
The dispute has unfolded alongside a Congress government-ordered land inquiry at Erravelli, where officials are examining parcels around KCR's farmhouse. Local farmers have objected to the survey, asserting cultivation rights over part of the land.
With the opposition now alleging the involvement of Revanth Reddy's family in a 330-acre land holding, the competing claims over assets, land records and the Formula E case have become a flashpoint in state politics.