"Small Minds, Petty Politics": KTR Appears For Questioning In Formula E Case

BRS working president KT Rama Rao, popularly known by his initials KTR, has appeared for questioning in the Formula E race case, with a stern message that he has all the answers. Mr Rao, who was summoned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today, is the prime accused in the case related to the alleged "unauthorised" payments to conduct the Formula E race.

The Telangana High Court has allowed KTR's lawyer to accompany him to the ACB office, but he is not allowed in the interrogation room. He can track the questioning from across a glass window in an adjacent room.

CCTV recording is not allowed for the questioning session.

Ahead of appearing before the ACB, KTR said whatever he did was to improve Hyderabad's brand image.

"As the son of Telangana's former chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao, I will die for Telangana if needed but won't bow in front of such people. I have the answers to all questions. Whatever I did was to enhance the brand image of Hyderabad," he told reporters.

Earlier in the day, he shared a footage from a podcast talking about the race and said he worked tirelessly for bringing a prestigious event to India. KTR said his agenda was to make Hyderabad a pivotal hub for sustainable mobility and the Formula-E race was a part of the effort to realise this vision.

The former state minister said he intended to make TMV (Telangana Mobility Valley) clusters the epicentre for innovation, research, and manufacturing of electric vehicles creating employment and revenue. "Small minds who are driven by petty politics may never understand any of this but I am confident that people of Telangana who are observing everything will understand the truth and the vision," his online post read.

Another accused in the case - senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar - appeared before the ACB yesterday.

Dramatic scenes unfolded at the ACB headquarters on Tuesday after KTR's lawyer was not allowed to accompany him inside. KTR refused to be questioned and left without appearing before the anti-corruption officials. He was then issued a fresh notice for Thursday and the court allowed his lawyer to accompany him to the office.

The Formula E race case was registered last month against KTR, who was Municipal Administration Minister during the BRS regime, and two others over alleged payments for conducting the race in 2023. Most of the payments were allegedly unauthorised and in foreign currency, and led to losses worth about Rs 55 crore.

The race was to be held in February 2024, but it was cancelled after a change in government in December 2023.