BJP MP Eataja Rajender appears before judicial panel probing 'irregularities' in Kaleshwaram project

BJP Lok Sabha MP Eatala Rajender on Friday appeared before the judicial commission probing the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram irrigation project in Telangana.

Rajender, who was a BRS leader before joining BJP in 2021, had served as Finance Minister in the government headed by former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Speaking to reporters later, he said he was asked 11-12 questions by the panel and that he answered all of them.

The BJP leader clarified that he had functioned strictly in line with (relevant rules) of the finance department vis-a-vis the project in his capacity as the Finance Minister then.

The project report, designs and execution of the project were handled by the irrigation department.

He said, as Finance Minister, he was also not involved in the loans obtained by the Kaleshwaram Corporation, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created by the then BRS government to construct the project.

In fact, there is an accounts and audit wing with the irrigation which is responsible for checking the bills, progress and quality of work.

Emphasising his integrity, Rajender said he has always served people with honesty and ethics throughout his political journey.

He dismissed the criticism about being summoned before the commission, which is headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice P C Ghose.

Rajender demanded that the Congress government make the commission's findings public and take action against those responsible for the wrongdoing and damage caused to the project without delay.

In response to a question if he was trying to shield former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao by stating that the Kaleshwaram project was a collective cabinet decision, Rajender said KCR himself had announced many times in the past that the project was his brainchild.

Asked if he had noticed any irregularities vis-a-vis the project during his tenure as Finance minister, he said the commission has questioned several engineers and gathered details of who gave orders to the engineers in the execution of the project.

The damage to the barrages of Kaleshwaram project, built during the previous BRS regime, became a key issue during the 2023 assembly elections in the state.

Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy recently announced that the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) has labelled the Kaleshwaram project, built at a cost of over Rs one lakh crore, to be "probably" the biggest man-made disaster in the country.

Former CM KCR is likely to appear before the Commission on June 11.