Within a day of Telangana deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka fretted and fumed at Andhra Jyothy Telugu daily managing director Vemuri Radhakrishna for linking him to Naini coal block tender scam, his own brother and Congress MP Mallu Ravi met the media baron triggering speculations in the media circles.
On Sunday, Mallu Ravi, who represents Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency, paid a courtesy visit to Radhakrishna and held closed door meetings.
The meeting happened in the backdrop of continuing political and media turbulence in Telangana over the Naini coal block tender controversy.
The meeting, which reportedly lasted over an hour, comes at a time when the state has witnessed intense exchanges of allegations, counter-allegations, criticism, and political narratives involving the government, opposition parties, and sections of the media.
The controversy gained momentum after Radhakrishna recently published reports highlighting alleged irregularities in the tender process linked to the Naini coal block project.
Following the reports, chief minister A Revanth Reddy attempted to downplay the issue by portraying it as a dispute between two media organisations.
However, on Saturday, Bhatti Vikramarka, who has faced allegations in the matter, launched a strong counterattack, accusing Radhakrishna of acting with ulterior motives. He demanded an apology from the media baron.
In his column on Sunday, Radhakrishna rejected the accusations, stating that he came to know of the tender issue only after a separate channel aired content involving alleged character assassination of a woman IAS officer.
He further claimed that changes in tender eligibility conditions — including making “site visits” mandatory — were allegedly designed to favour certain parties in securing the coal block contract.
Radhakrishna asserted that the cancellation of the Naini tenders should be seen as a corrective outcome of investigative journalism, adding that the issue created ripples “from the streets to Delhi,” prompting even the Union coal ministry to review the matter.
Apparently to douse the fire, Mallu Ravi met Radhakrishna and reportedly sought the latter to put an end to the entire controversy, lest it will be exploited by the BRS for political gains. Maybe, Vikramarka sent his brother to Radhakrishna for a patch-up.
It is not immediately known what kind of understanding Mallu brothers have reached with Radhakrishna. Watch out for further developments in this regard.