All eyes will be on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and former minister KT Rama Rao on Monday after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Telangana Police on Friday asked him to appear before it on January 6 in connection with a case. linked to alleged payment irregularities during the Formula-E race supposed to be held here in February 2023.
The Telangana ACB last month registered a case against Raoalso known as KTR, over alleged payments, some of it in foreign currency without approvals, to conduct the race during the previous regime.
The Telangana High Court gave protection against arrest to Rao, until the order on a petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him by the ACB in the Formula-E race issue, is pronounced.
KTR, who was Municipal Administration Minister during the previous BRS regime, was also summoned by the ED for questioning on January 7 over alleged irregularities with regard to conducting the race in Hyderabad.
The main allegation against KTR, son of ex-chief minister KCR, is that he allegedly did not seek the necessary approvals from the Cabinet or the Finance Department in authorizing the transfer of Rs 45 crore from the HMDA to a foreign entity.
The money transfers, in British pounds, violated the rules of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which fined the Telangana government Rs 8 crore, an amount paid by the incumbent Congress government that ordered an inquiry, leading to the ACB case against KTR , Kumar, and Reddy.
The FIR was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Modi to virtually inaugurate railway projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday launch several railway projects, including the Jammu railway division and a terminal station in Telangana via video conferencing.
Modi will inaugurate Charlapalli New Terminal station in Telangana and lay the foundation stone of Rayagada railway division building of east coast railway.
According to a statement, the Jammu division will fulfill the long pending aspiration of the locals by improving their connectivity to other parts of India.
The new division will create employment opportunities, infrastructure development, promote tourism and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region, it said.
It will comprise the following sections: Pathankot-Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla (423 route km), Bhogpur-Sirwal-Pathankot (87.21 route km), Batala (excluding)-Pathankot (68.17 route km) and Pathankot-Joginder Nagar ( narrow gauge section, 163.72 route km).
The total length of these sections will be 742.1 kilometers.
Assam govt-FICCI roadshow in Mumbai
The Assam government, in collaboration with FICCI as the industry partner, will host a roadshow in Mumbai on January 6 as a precursor to the ‘Advantage Assam’ conclave next month, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.
The CM is on a three-day visit to Mumbai to meet industry leaders to explore areas of collaboration for the upcoming business conclave in the northeastern state.
“For the next 3 days, I’ll be in Mumbai to meet the leaders of India Inc and explore areas of mutual collaboration for the upcoming #AdvantageAssam 2.0 Summit. I will also participate in the Road Show to invite potential investors to the land of limitless opportunities – Assam,” Sarma wrote on X.
The Advantage Assam conclave, to be held on February 25-26, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM had recently said.
– With PTI inputs
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