Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief A Revanth Reddy was stopped by Hyderabad police on Monday when he was proceeding towards the new Secretariat, IANS reported. Reddy, who was stopped at Telephone Bhavan, was going to the Secretariat to meet special chief secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar over the issue of leasing of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to a private party.
Reddy has been questioning the government's decision to lease ORR for 30 years and opposed the move. According to IANS, police said Revanth Reddy was stopped as he had not taken permission to meet officials.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief argued that there was no need to take appointments to go to the Secretariat.
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Revanth wanted to know the rules under which he was being stopped. The Secretariat, which was opened on Sunday, now has increased police security. Barricades have also been erected at the entrance.
The TPCC chief alleged that the leasing of ORR by the government was a "big scam". He said the project that would generate Rs 30,000 crore in the next 10 years was leased out for just Rs 7,380 crore.
On Sunday, Revanth Reddy told reporters that huge money had changed hands in the deal. The ORR, which is estimated to grow at least 10 per cent annually, cannot be given away at a throwaway lease price, he argued.
He claimed that the toll collection on the ORR is Rs 2 crore every day and the extension without any tender benefitted the bigwigs. Reddy said Minister for Municipal Administration KT Rama Rao should explain the reasons for the extension without the tender.
He said the Congress would review the lease as soon as it comes to power after the next election and warned that those behind this "shady deal" would not be spared.
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