HYDERABAD: Describing the case as politically motivated and the verdict as a complete vindication of her stand, Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Friday questioned the silence of senior BRS leadership, including former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, at the time of her arrest in the Delhi excise policy case, shortly after a court dismissed the case and cleared all the accused.
“Why was there no press conference? Why was I left to face political witch-hunt alone? Why was even basic social media support missing?” she asked, adding that the silence of the BRS leadership at that time allowed a free hand to the BJP to implement its “vindictive and misogynistic agenda”.
Speaking to the media after meeting representatives of the Farmers Commission at BRKR Bhavan, Kavitha thanked the judiciary, stating that the court had found even the core arguments of the prosecution to be without basis.
“From day one, I said this was a false case and that I would come out clean. Today, the verdict has proven the truth beyond doubt,” she said.
She, however, said the acquittal did not undo the personal cost of her incarceration for over five months.
‘BRS insulted people with its bid to pin poll defeat on me’
“No amount of money, no compensation, can restore my dignity or bring back the time stolen from me and my family. What happened to us was nothing short of injustice,” she said, adding that she was separated from her children and faced humiliation and mental distress.
Turning to the recent Assembly election outcome in Telangana, Kavitha rejected claims linking the BRS defeat to the excise case. She described such arguments as politically convenient. “Trying to pin the defeat on me is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Telangana,” she said.
She said the party’s loss stemmed from its own failures, including non-delivery on promises related to jobs, housing and welfare, distribution of tickets to “undeserving and tainted individuals”, and growing arrogance and disconnect. Kavitha questioned BRS working president KT Rama Rao, urging him to accept political realities instead of manufacturing convenient excuses. “Blaming a fabricated case for the defeat is an attempt to escape accountability,” she said.
Kavitha also referred to what she called the failure of party platforms to counter attacks made during the controversy. She alleged that misogynistic propaganda had gone unchallenged. “The silence then directly emboldened the slander,” she said.
Clarifying her role during the elections, she said her name did not figure in public debates at the time. “The debates were on unemployment, double bedroom houses, governance failures, and arrogance, not on me,” she said.
She thanked her parents, in-laws, husband and party workers for standing by her during court hearings. She added that she had returned to public activity immediately after the verdict and would continue to work on farmers’ issues.
Kavitha announced that she would launch a new political party in the coming months. She said she had accepted the people’s verdict in the past, including her defeat in Nizamabad, and would continue to engage in public life “with or without” organised backing.
She appealed to the public to reject what she described as false narratives and to stand against the targeting of women in public life.
