The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which recently announced a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) as its new name, on Sunday gave a representation to the State Election Commissioner Vikas Raj, seeking the disqualification of Munugode Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. The TRS sought the disqualification on the allegation that the former Munugode MLA was awarded a mining project worth Rs 18,000 crore in exchange of joining the BJP. The TRS said that since the BJP candidate admitted to receiving kickbacks in favour of joining the BJP, he should be disqualified from the election.
In an interview, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy said that his company Sushee Infra and Mining Limited (SIML) received the Rs 18,000 crore project six months ago. The TRS has termed this as a case of quid pro quo.
TRS Working President and minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday shared the clip of the video and shared it on Twitter to share a video clip of the interview and alleged, “Quid pro quo - open confession of the BJP MLA candidate from Munugode. His company gets a massive ₹18,000 Cr contract from & in return he joins BJP. Likely that his brother Congress MP might follow in his footsteps.”
Reacting to the allegation, Rajagopal Reddy threatened to file a defamation case against KTR if he did not prove the allegation within a day. "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," tweeted Rajagopal Reddy.
Rajagopal Reddy resigned as MLA and quit the Congress, necessitating a bye-election. He joined the BJP at a public meeting addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Munugode on August 21. The by-election to the seat is scheduled to be held on November 3. Rajagopal Reddy is all set to enter the fray as BJP candidate.
In an informal chat with media persons, KTR had claimed that Rajagopal Reddy's firm Sushee Infra and Mining (SIML) received a Rs 22,000 crore contract from the union government and in return, he quit Congress and joined the BJP. He alleged that the contractor imposed an unnecessary bye-election on the people of Munugode. KTR also said that he has information from BJP insiders that Rajagopal Reddy had assured the BJP that he would spend Rs 500 crore to win the upcoming bye-election.