NACOF India Ltd. has served a legal notice on BRS leader and former senior IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar on Wednesday over alleged defamatory statements made against the federation at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on September 17, 2026, concerning the tender for the supply of food provisions and cleaning materials to the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS).
The federation has given Mr. Praveen Kumar seven days to withdraw the allegations, remove related videos and social media posts uploaded by a vernacular news channel, and issue a formal written apology on the same platforms. Failure to comply would prompt NACOF to initiate civil and criminal proceedings seeking damages and injunctive relief, the notice said.
NACOF, the National Federation of Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd., termed the allegations made by Mr. Praveen Kumar and the BRS baseless and said no evidence had been provided to substantiate the claims.
The federation said it was a multi-State cooperative registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and regulated by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies under the Union Ministry of Cooperation. It participated in an open, competitive e-procurement tender notified on May 22, 2026, and emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) after evaluation of all bids, according to the notice.
NACOF said it received a formal Letter of Award on August 19, 2026, and furnished the requisite performance security. It had since been supplying provisions under the rate contract to residential institutions and welfare hostels across all 33 districts of Telangana. The federation maintained that every stage of the tendering process was documented.
While welcoming legitimate scrutiny of public procurement, NACOF said public figures, particularly those with a background in senior public service, had a responsibility to distinguish verified facts from speculation. The alleged false accusations had harmed its reputation and goodwill, it said.
