State Planning Board Vice-Chairman C. Kutumba Rao on Wednesday said he was ready for a debate on the Amaravati bonds and dared former MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar to prove his charges of corruption.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat, Mr. Rao said he would submit his resignation within 24 hours if Mr. Arun Kumar proved his allegations.
The bonds were issued in a transparent manner.
‘Any time, any place’
“I am ready to clear any doubts if the former MP was unaware of the process of issuance. I am even ready for an unscheduled open debate. Even tomorrow is ok,” he said.
Mr. Rao suggested the former MP to desist from creating unnecessary doubts among people. There was no truth in his or the Opposition’s argument.
It was not correct that the bonds were issued at higher rate of interest. The government would pay double arranger fee if anyone could provide interest less than what was being paid, he said.
The interest offered on any bond would be driven by the markets on the basis of their rating (A+ in this case) and there was no chance that the State government could do anything about it.
‘Bonds oversubscribed’
The bonds worth Rs. 2,000 crore issued by the APCRDA were over-subscribed by 1.53 times. The 10-year issue was offered at a fixed interest of 10.32% per annum, paid quarterly, with a 5-year moratorium on the principal payment, redeemed on yearly basis for the next five years at 20% every year, he added.