The Rs 18,000 crore contract received by the company of BJP MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy appears to have taken centre stage in the political battle ahead of the Munugode bye-polls in Telangana. Both the ruling Rashtra Samithi Samithi (TRS) and opposition Congress are trying to derive political mileage by alleging that Rajagopal switched from the Congress to the BJP in exchange for the Rs 18,000 tender, floated by the Union government to his mining company Sushee Infra & Mining Limited (SIML). Rajagopal Reddy, who resigned from the Congress recently, is contesting the November 3 bye-election as a BJP candidate.
In an interview to a news channel earlier, the MLA revealed that his company received a massive tender from the Union government, which the TRS alleged was done in exchange for Rajagopal joining the TRS. The controversy heightened after TRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Tuesday, October 11, said the TRS would withdraw its candidate if the BJP-led Union government provides an amount equal to the contract given to Rajagopal Reddy for the development of Munugode. He alleged that by buying a contractor, the BJP was hoping to buy the people of Munugode as a commodity.
KTR also reiterated the allegation that Rajagopal Reddy has promised to the BJP leadership that he will spend Rs 500 crore in the bye-election "This bye-election is a fight between Narendra Modi's arrogance and the self-respect of the people of Munugode," KTR said.
Both TRS and Congress have been slamming Rajagopal Reddy for imposing a by-election on Munugode for the sake of the contract. AICC incharge Manickam Tagore had taken to Twitter to say that what the Telangana Congress has been saying from August 1 has now been accepted by Rajagopal Reddy. In Munugode campaigning too the Congress is said to be using the revelation to their benefit.
Meanwhile, posters were seen across Munugode showing a picture of Rajagopal Reddy, which showed a logo saying “ContractPe” resembling that of the UPI payment portal PhonePe. The posters had a picture of Rajagopal’s face, with text that said “Rs 18,000 crore has been transferred to contractor Komatireddy”. The poster mentions Transaction ID as 'BJP18thousandcrores'. The posters appeared after the MLA filed his nomination on Monday.
Tensions further escalated in Munugode as the office of the Congress party there was vandalised and set on fire. Videos that were shared by the Telangana Congress wing show parts of the office burnt down, along with several files and the Congress flag. While it is not clear who carried out the attack, the Congress has blamed workers of the TRS and BJP
In an interview to a Telugu news channel, Rajagopal Reddy admitted that his infrastructure firm Sushee Infra & Mining Limited) bagged Rs 18,000 contract by winning tenders in the last six months.
Both TRS and Congress have been slamming him for imposing a by-election on Munugode for the sake of the contract. AICC incharge Manickam Tagore had taken to Twitter to say that what the Telangana Congress has been saying from August 1 has now been accepted by Rajagopal Reddy. In Munugode campaigning too the Congress is said to be using the revelation to their benefit.
TRS working president KT Rama Rao said on Tuesday that the TRS will withdraw its candidate if the BJP government at the Centre comes forward to provide the amount equal to the contract given to Rajagopal Reddy for the development of Munugode. KTR said as working president of the party he is committed to the word given by energy minister Jagadish Reddy that TRS will withdraw its candidate if the Centre gives Rs 18,000 crore for the development of Nalgonda.
He said by buying a contractor, the BJP was hoping to buy the people of Munugode as a commodity. KTR also reiterated the allegation that Rajagopal Reddy has promised to the BJP leadership that he will spend Rs 500 crore in the bye-election.
"This by-election is a fight between Narendra Modi's arrogance and the self-respect of the people of Munugode," he said.
Meanwhile, wall posters have come up in the constituency, highlighting how Rajagopal Reddy switched loyalties to the BJP after bagging Rs 18,000 crore contract.
The posters have come up in the format of a digital payment app. Using a fictitious name ContractPe, it declares that Rs 18,000 crore contract awarded to Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. The poster mentions Transaction ID as 'BJP18thousandcrores'.
A video of the fictitious digital transaction of Rs 18,000 crore from the BJP to Rajagopal Reddy was also uploaded from the official Twitter handle of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.
The TRS has already urged the Election Commission of India to disqualify Rajagopal Reddy from the by-election as he was awarded the massive contract to lure him to switch loyalties.
With inputs from Agencies