Hyderabad: Thirtyseven investment and finance companies purchased 9,99,528 bonds, each valued at `1 lakh, issued by the TG Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC). With approval from the RBI, the TGIIC raised `Rs 9,995 crore through these bonds, backed by a state government guarantee, the Congress said on Saturday. This proved beyond doubt that the government or the TGIIC had not mortgaged the 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land with ICICI Bank to raise `Rs10,000 crore loans as being alleged by the BRS, the party said. Among the buyers, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) PTE led with a purchase of 2.48 lakh bonds worth Rs 2,480 crore. Barclays Bank PLC followed, with 1 lakh bonds valued at Rs 1,000 crore. Morgan Stanley India Primary Dealer Pvt Ltd acquired 90,000 bonds worth Rs 900 crore, the party stated. Other major buyers were Aditya Birla, Kotak Mahindra, and Nomura. To counter allegations made by BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao that the Congress government had mortgaged the Kancha Gachibowli to ICICI Bank to raise `Rs 10,000 crore through TGIIC, the Congress released documents to back its claim. Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, who released the papers at Gandhi Bhavan, said Rama Rao was known for spreading fake news and had stooped to a new low with his baseless allegations on Kacha Gachibowli land, Congress government and ICICI Bank. On Friday, ICICI Bank had said in a statement: “We would like to clarify that we have not provided any mortgage loan to Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC, which has been renamed as TGIIC) and TSIIC has not mortgaged any land with us in relation to this bond issuance. We acted only as an account bank to TSIIC for receipt of bond issuance money and interest servicing.” The development came against the backdrop of a triggered by allegations from Rama Rao, who claimed that the Congress-led state government had mortgaged 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli to ICICI Bank to raise `Rs 10,000 crore. “There is no mortgage, no Rs 10,000 crore loan from ICICI Bank to the government,” Kiran Kumar Reddy stated. “KTR’s claims are baseless and part of a pattern of spreading fake news.” The MP said that the funds raised through bond sales were deposited into a TGIIC account with the ICICI Bank, from which the proceeds were transferred to the state. He accused Rama Rao of misrepresenting facts and attempting to mislead the public. “KTR said he would explode a ‘hydrogen bomb of truth’ on the Kancha Gachibowli land in 24 hours, but it didn’t even amount to an onion bomb,” he said in a mocking tone. Kiran Kumar Reddy dismissed Rama Rao’s claims about the land being litigation-prone or forest property, asserting that due diligence by the investing companies had confirmed the land’s clear legal status and ownership by the state government. “No one invests thousands of crores without verifying the land status. This proves the 400 acres are free of disputes and are owned by the government,” Kiran Kumar Reddy said. Addressing conflicting valuations of the land from BRS leaders — Rama Rao pegged it at Rs 5,200 crore, while another BRS MLA claimed it was Rs20,000 crore — Kiran Kumar Reddy questioned their credibility. “Whom should we believe,” he asked, adding, “You may believe there’s a zoo in Hyderabad, but can you believe there’s a forest in Kancha Gachibowli?” He appealed to the BRS to stop disrupting the governance process and instead contribute constructively. “We are rebuilding Telangana after years of mismanagement by the previous BRS government. Join us in these efforts, and if something is wrong, bring it to us—we’ll resolve it,” he urged.
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