KHAMMAM: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Friday alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was tapping the phones of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Ministers Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and N Uttam Kumar Reddy “as he was afraid that they posed a challenge to his post”.
Speaking at the BRS office in Khammam, Rama Rao said: “Does Revanth have the courage to take a lie detector test or publicly swear that he’s not tapping their phones?”
Responding to the chief minister’s allegation on Thursday of “secret” meetings with TDP’s Nara Lokesh in Dubai at midnight, Rama Rao said: “There were no such meetings. Even if I had met Lokesh, what’s the issue? He is not Dawood Ibrahim. He is the son of Chandrababu Naidu, with whom we have political links. But the claim is false.”
The BRS working president was in the district to meet the family of former Wyra MLA Banoth Madanlal, who died recently. Accompanied by former minister P Ajay Kumar and MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, Rama Rao addressed the media and criticised what he called the chief minister’s “idle talk”.
“Just like drugs have ruined lives, Revanth’s words are toxic to public discourse. One day it’s phone tapping, the next it’s a Formula-E case, then drugs, then Kaleshwaram, or KCR. This has been the pattern for the last 20 months,” he said, accusing the Congress government of poor administration.
‘Misleading narratives’
The BRS leader challenged Revanth to a public debate in Kodangal and said previous chief ministers such as Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, NT Rama Rao, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu, K Rosaiah and K Chandrashekar Rao had held the office with dignity. “Revanth’s tenure has seen an increase in gossip websites, YouTube speculation, and misleading narratives,” he said.
Rama Rao claimed that although hundreds of cases had been filed against BRS leaders over the past 20 months, no evidence had been found. He also accused members of the chief minister’s family of threatening individuals, conducting financial settlements, and displaying erratic behaviour.
The BRS leader accused Revanth of spreading unverified rumours and replacing the six guarantees of the Congress with what he called “self-serving guarantees”. These, he alleged, included land deals for close aides and frequent visits to Delhi to seek favours from the Centre. “We’ll prove our strength in the upcoming local body elections,” he said.