Hyderabad: Stating that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s personal vendetta, arrogance, and dictatorial tendencies forced the world-renowned construction company L&T to abruptly withdraw from the Hyderabad Metro project, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Friday demanded an inquiry into the matter and called for a stakeholders’ meeting.

The BRS leader criticised the government for its irresponsible and reckless decision that has imposed a staggering Rs 15,000 crore debt burden on the people of the state overnight.

Addressing a press conference at the party office Telangana Bhavan, Rama Rao alleged L&T’s willingness to repair the Medigadda barrage at its own expense, thereby preventing Revanth Reddy’s propaganda of portraying Kaleshwaram as a “failure,” became the root cause of the Chief Minister’s grudge against the company. From that point onwards, the government targeted and harassed L&T until it was driven out of the state. Rao explained the conspiracies and failures of the Congress government behind L&T’s exit. He recalled how the BRS government supported and safeguarded the Metro project from 2014 onwards when only 20-25 per cent of work was completed.

With the assurance of the then Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, L&T accelerated works, leading to the inauguration of the first phase by PM Modi in 2017. Even during COVID, when the company feared losses, KCR extended a soft loan of Rs 3,000 crore, of which Rs 900 crore was released, to protect the project. Under BRS, Metro ridership grew to 5 lakh daily, expanded to 69 km, and became India’s second-largest network with major IT corridor connectivity.

KTR contrasted this with Congress rule, accusing Revanth Reddy of sabotaging the Airport Metro, blackmailing L&T in Medigadda repairs, and diverting projects to his followers. He said that despite a 2070 lease, L&T was forced to exit because of the CM’s revenge politics and hunger for Metro lands. He alleged that the government’s financial recklessness had now added Rs 15,000 crore more debt on top of Telangana’s already massive Rs 2.2 lakh crore borrowing, with nothing to show in return. According to him, the entire decision was a conspiracy to capture the 280 acres of valuable Metro lands and hand them to the CM’s close associates.

KTR demanded to know what commissions and kickbacks were involved, why the decision was taken without Cabinet discussion, and called for a Central government probe. He declared that BRS will take the issue to the people, exposing how a Rs 20,000 crore asset created under BRS has been turned into a Rs 15,000 crore liability under Congress. He urged the two Union Ministers from the state to respond on this.

KTR challenged the government’s integrity, mocked Revanth Reddy’s repeated ‘empty treasury’ laments, and vowed that BRS would continue to fight for people’s pensions, welfare, and against corporate blackmail. He exuded confidence that the people of Hyderabad would support BRS and predicted that the party would win the Jubilee Hills by-election.