Telangana’s Munugode witnessed mild tensions on Monday, October 10 ahead of the bye-poll, after posters accusing BJP MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy of corruption were pasted across Chandur town. The posters showed a logo that said ‘Contract Pe’, resembling that of the UPI app PhonePe, with Rajagopal’s face in the centre and text that said “Rs 18,000 crore has been transferred to contractor Komatireddy”.
The posters emerged after Rajagopal Reddy, on Monday, October 10, filed his nomination for the upcoming bye-polls. The poster alludes to allegations of the MLA, who was formerly a part of the Congress, receiving Rs 18,000 crore from the Union government as kickbacks for switching to the BJP. According to reports, several posters were pasted on walls in public places in Chandur town, and it is not yet clear who put them up.
Meanwhile, PhonePe said in a statement, "We would like to clarify that PhonePe is not associated with the news circulating in some of the media on ‘Contract Pe’. The company has no political affiliations with any of the parties or candidates. The use of PhonePe’s logo in creating ‘Contract Pe’ is tantamount to misrepresentation and is also infringement of PhonePe’s intellectual property rights and PhonePe reserves its rights to take suitable legal recourse in future."
A few days ago, Telangana minister and TRS working president, KT Rama Rao (KTR), shared a clip of Rajaopal Reddy saying in a TV interview that his company, Sushee Infra and Mining Limited, had received contracts worth Rs 18,000 crore from the Union government around six months ago. Sharing the video, KTR said this was a case of quid pro quo, and alleged that the MLA switched to the BJP in exchange for the contract. Rajagopal responded to the allegations, asking KTR to provide proof within 24 hours or face a defamation suit. "It's time to call spade a spade. I openly challenge Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao. I am giving you 24 hrs time. Either you prove the allegation levelled against me about the quid-pro-quo nexus or be ready to face defamation," he said.
Similar posters were seen in Karnataka in September, accusing the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government of corruption. The posters, designed to look similar to the logo of digital payments app Paytm, led to the Congress campaign website www.40percentsarkara.com. The Congress has launched a campaign against the BJP government in the state, after allegations of the BJP demanding a 40% cut of commissions for contracts.