Retired IPS officer and former Andhra Pradesh intelligence chief A B Venkateshwar Rao, who declared his intentions to enter politics sooner or later, has been creating embarrassing moments to Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu regularly.
ABV, who already expressed unhappiness over the style of functioning of the Naidu government, is taking up several issues concerning public, including corruption in high places, much to the irritation of the Naidu government.
He also expressed his view that he did not see any existing party truly committed to meaningful development.
“The state is in decline, and I want to offer an alternative path," he said once.
On Thursday, ABV took up cudgels against corruption in the power sector and said it was because of corruption that the government was forced to increase power tariffs, imposing burden on the common man.
He particularly targeted the Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (SPDCL).
He submitted a formal complaint to SPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Siva Shankar in Tirupati, making scathing remarks about corruption in the power sector.
Questioning why the public should bear the burden of corruption, he said, “If an item worth one rupee is bought for three rupees due to kickbacks, why should the consumer suffer for it?”
Rao alleged that corruption began during the tenure of former SPDCL CMD Santosh Rao, who, he said, was allowed multiple extensions before being transferred.
He claimed to have sought detailed information on these irregularities through Right to Information (RTI) applications but was denied access despite filing first and second appeals 12 times.
According to him, since 2023, corruption in SPDCL has become “systematic and institutionalized,” with company officials and contractors allegedly sharing illicit profits.
Rao asserted that electricity tariffs would not come down unless corruption was curbed. He said his objective was to trigger a public debate and bring about reforms.
“If we don’t expose it now, this virus of corruption will spread to other DISCOMs as well,” he warned.
Announcing the next course of action, Rao said a roundtable meeting involving representatives of all political parties will be held at the Tirupati Press Club on Friday to discuss the issue with comprehensive data.
