SIDDIPET: The conspicuous absence of former minister and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao from the news, ahead of the inauguration of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), is one of the hottest topics for people in the State.
Harish was irrigation minister when KLIS broke ground in 2016. For the next two years, he closely monitored work at the project site, often spending his nights in makeshift camps. That he is not being involved by the chief minister in the arrangements being made for the project’s inauguration has surprised not just Harish supporters but the people of erstwhile Medak district, where he enjoys quite the popularity.
Leaders from the pink party in Siddipet are unable to accept that Harish has all but disappeared from the scene altogether. A leader told Express: “The people of Siddipet gave him (Harish Rao) a majority of more than one lakh in the Assembly elections. In the Lok Sabha elections, since he was and is being ignored, the people expressed their anger against TRS.”
He was referring to how several TRS candidates, including Harish’s cousin and the chief minister’s daughter K Kavitha, were defeated by BJP and Congress.
Sources said that despite the fact that Harish Rao has not been inducted into the State Cabinet, he was nevertheless actively reviewing work in his constituency. However, of late he has not been active at all.