Mahmmad Ali Shabbir, T-Congress senior leader and leader of opposition in Legislative Council, is in soup. Congress candidate, who withdrew his nomination from the recently concluded Council election, alleged that he had given Rs 2 crore to Shabbir Ali for nominating him to contest from Nizambad local bodies constituency of Legislative Council. Now, he wants Shabbir to return the money as he had not contested the election. According to sources, Congress leaders say Venkatarama, the leader in question, withdrew from the election on his own and they need not payback the money as it had already been distributed among the MPTCs.
Venkataramana has taken to matter to New Delhi. He is said to have written a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi about this money-deal.
According to Venkataramana Reddy, who made these charges against Shabbir Ali, he had given him Rs 2 crore to bet party’s nomination. Later Shabbir demanded another crore and asked him to deposit the money in the bank.
Shabbir and some other leaders asked him to keep ready Rs six crore for the election. That was the reason for his withdrawal from the contest of Nizambad council seat. Dragging former speaker Suresh Reddy into picture, Venkataramana Reddy said, the former speaker told him that the expenditure was the decision of the party. Suresh Reddy, according to Venkataramana, told him that the money should be distributed to MPTCs through him only. All these money matters were known to all district leaders including MLC Akula Lalitha and Madhu Yaski Goud.
Venkataramana Reddy said he had requested the party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to see that the money he had given to Shabbir be returned.