People’s Front lifts lid on KCR role in ESI, Sahara PF scams

​Hyderabad:  People’s Front on Friday made startling revelation against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao that he siphoned crores of rupees off construction of ESI building and Sahara PF scam during the latter’s stint as Union Minister of Labour  in the UPA -1 government between 2004 and 2009.  

Addressing a joint press conference with the Front partners, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy produced some documents, claiming that the CBI had dropped KCR’s  name in the charge-sheet in connection with the ESI scam.  

The contractor V Satyanarayana confessed that KCR allegedly took commissions for awarding works on nomination basis by violating the norms stipulated in the finalisation of the tenders.  The TRS leader should have been A1 in the scam. The official documents prepared by the CBI had clearly mentioned the role of KCR in the ESI scam. 

Uttam Kumar Reddy also said  KCR was behind the Sahara scam in which the agency had swindled crores of rupees deposited in the form PF in the name of  workers registered with the Labour Department.  He alleged that KCR diluted the two cases pending against him by supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre. On the pretext of eye treatment, KCR went Delhi for several times and pleaded with Modi to protect him from the cases. 

After 2009,  KCR intensified Telangana agitation only to escape from the cases pending against him,  the Congress leader said. The deletion of KCR name in the two scams exposed the nexus between the TRS chief and Modi. In return of the help, KCR supported Modi’s anti-people policies like demonetisation,  GST etc. 

In a scathing attack, TDP Telangana  unit president L Ramana said it was KCR who made the lives of the beedi workers miserable by introducing the printing of skull on the tobacco products. Crores of beedi workers lost their livelihoods due to the stringent rules, he said. The workers lost their money saved in their PF accounts after Sahara was given authority to maintain their accounts.