HYDERABAD: Even as the BRS battles the Justice PC Ghose Commission report both inside and outside the Telangana Assembly, party MLC and Telangana Jagruthi president Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Monday triggered a fresh political storm, accusing senior party leaders of tainting her father and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s image with corruption.
Addressing a press conference at the Telangana Jagruthi office in Hyderabad, Kavitha claimed that her father was “clean and uninterested in money” but former irrigation minister T Harish Rao and former Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar colluded with Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd MD Krishna Reddy and amassed huge wealth, dragging KCR’s name into the corruption allegations surrounding the Kaleshwaram project.
She said: “It is because of Harish Rao, Santosh Rao, and Krishna Reddy that KCR is facing allegations of corruption today. Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar amassed wealth while my father, who always worked for the welfare of the people of Telangana, is now being forced to face a CBI inquiry. I am deeply distressed. For me, he is not just my father, he is like God,” Kavitha said.
Harish, Santosh conspired against me: Kavitha
Kavitha pointed out that KCR had not allocated the irrigation portfolio to Harish Rao in BRS’ second term in office because he indulged in corrupt acts in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project.
She alleged that both Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar hatched conspiracies against her. “Even though they spread lies about me, I refrained from naming them earlier. But now, with KCR being made to suffer at this age because of their actions, I can no longer remain silent. Why should we protect such leaders when KCR’s image is at stake?” she said.
The BRS leader dismissed allegations that KCR had amassed wealth. “My father had no interest in money. Even for my wedding, he did not have enough. Despite being in public life for nearly four decades, he never worked with the intention of making money,” she said.
Kavitha also questioned why the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was not investigating those allegedly behind the three Kaleshwaram project officers arrested with assets worth hundreds of crores. “Why is the government not going after the real masterminds? Instead, they are targeting KCR,” she said, accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of being hand-in-glove with Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar for political convenience.
The BRS MLC also anticipated political backlash for her remarks. “From tomorrow, social media will spread that I am working for the Congress or BJP. Let me make it clear — ‘Khabardar Bidda,’ I am not a puppet. My blood is KCR’s blood, and I will face any political consequences,” she declared.
Defending the Kaleshwaram project, Kavitha said the government was deliberately exaggerating the damage to discredit KCR. “Of the entire Kaleshwaram project, Medigadda barrage is just a small part. Only three piers sank, yet the government is projecting as if the entire project had collapsed. After Telangana was formed, KCR personally researched for months on how to lift water. Targeting him now is grossly unfair,” she said.
She accused the Congress of running a sustained campaign to brand KCR as corrupt. “They allege he looted `1 lakh crore and wanted to become richer than the Nizam. Though KCR is not interested in money, he, however, found inspiration in Nizams for construction of irrigation projects. Telangana will remember him for 200 years for building Kaleshwaram,” she said.
Kavitha contrasted her father’s role in the Telangana movement with that of Revanth. “KCR faced discrimination during the statehood movement, while Revanth Reddy worked against Telangana. Even today, Revanth is serving the interests of the neighbouring state,” she alleged.
Hours after the media conference, the party removed Kavitha’s PRO and PA from its official media WhatsApp groups, indicating growing unease in the party’s leadership over her direct attack on senior leaders.