KTR defends money transfer in Formula-E racing, dismisses case against him as nonsense

BRS Executive President KT Rama Rao addressing a press conference in Hyderabad on Thursday (December 19, 2024).

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) executive president KT Rama Rao defended the transfer of ₹ 55 crore to Formula-E race organizers last year, saying the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had no place to file a case. There is no corruption in it.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday (December 19) after the ACB registered a case against him, KTR challenged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to debate in the Assembly and said he would not be afraid of cases against him as he was a part. of ‘KCR’s Army’.

“We protest peacefully and fight the case legally,” he accused the Chief Minister of “misleading” the Governor to file a case against him.

He said, reiterating his claim that the event boosted Hyderabad’s image globally and brought in ₹700 crore worth of business to the city, according to a Nielsen report. “People who don’t understand the importance of such games to boost Hyderabad’s image across continents are trying to find loopholes to settle political scores,” he claimed.

Mr. Rama Rao detailed the transactions to protect the e-race from being looted from Hyderabad and noted that the transactions were clean and safe with the organizers as they recently disclosed through a letter to the Congress government. . He said that he asked the then Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar to hand over the funds to fulfill the obligations of the agreement.

E-Race Chief Championship Officer and Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo showed a picture of meeting Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and claimed that the meeting was kept secret for unknown reasons. However, the dialogue between the Congress government and the organizers has shown that there is an intention to continue the e-race.

Mr. Rama Rao also revealed that the government may face legal and financial consequences from the organizers for canceling the race and that the process is actually ongoing. He said in a similar scenario in Montreal, Canada, where the local government canceled the Formula-E race, the organizers successfully sued for compensation.