Jairam Ramesh accuses M Venkaiah Naidu, KTR of corruption
- Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has levelled serious charges against Vice Presidential candidate Venkaiah Naidu.
- Jairam Ramesh has also has accused Telangana IT minister KRT of corruption.
- Both Naidu and KTR have hit back at Jairam Ramesh.
FollowSenior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has launched a scathing attack against NDA’s Vice-Presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu and Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao. The senior Congress leader has accused both the leaders of corruption.
Jairam Ramesh seems to have dug up files dating as far back as 15 years. While both BJP and TRS has reacted with anger but none of them have given an answer on the corruption charges.
Here are some of the questions raised by Jairam Ramesh to Venkaiah Naidu and KTR.
- In June, this year Telangana government exempted, the Swarna Bharat Trust, where Naidu’s daughter Deepa Venkat is a managing trustee from paying various charges amounting to over Rs 2-crore.
“Is it not a fact that on June 20, 2017, the Telangana government issued an order that exempted the Swarna Bharat Trust run by Shri Venkaiah Naidu’s daughter from paying various charges amounting to more than Rs 2 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority? Is it not a fact that such an exemption has no precedent and it has been done because his daughter is the managing trustee of the organisation?” the Congress leader asked.
- In his second question, Jairam Ramesh posed a query relating to the Telangana government placing a huge order of vehicles with a company owned by Naidu’s son.
“Is it not a fact that in July 2014, the Telangana government placed an order amounting to about Rs 271 crore for the purchase of vehicles for the police from two companies – Harsha Toyota owned by Venkaiah Naidu’s son and Himanshu Motors owned by the son of the Telangana chief minister? Is it not a fact that such an order was placed in contravention of all rules and without even floating a tender?” Ramesh asked.
- The third question pertained to the allotment of land to a trust, of which Naidu was chairman, in 2004.
The query of the Congress leader was, “Is it not a fact that on 25.09.2004, Kushabhau Thakre Memorial Trust with Shri Venkaiah Naidu as chairman was allotted 20 acres of land in Shahpura, Bhopal valuing at a few hundred crore rupees, lease deed of which was registered on 06.01.2007?”
- Finally, Ramesh also raised the issue of whether or not Naidu was accused in a land grab case.
“Is it not a fact that Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the then BJP national president, was accused of grabbing 4.95 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh reserved for the ‘Poor and the Destitute’? Is it not a fact that on August 17, 2002; Shri Venkaiah Naidu was forced to return this 4.95 acres of land after public embarrassment and accusations of ‘wrongdoing’?” he asked.
Responding to the first two questions Venkaiah Naidu said that he was not involved in the businesses of his children and nowhere related to the companies. He also mentioned that this was not the first time such exemptions were given and the TRS government had clarified on the issue that companies which are not profit-based are given such exemptions as they don’t have any specific laws regarding them.
The IT Minister KTR, on the other hand, spoke on everything apart from these issues. He criticised Jairam Ramesh and demanded an apology from him and said that if indeed there’s such a company in his name, he would write it off to Jairam.
