HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BRS, accusing it of misrule during its 10-year tenure. He described former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as “Papala Bairavudu” and referred to former ministers T Harish Rao and KT Rama Rao as “wolves.”
Addressing a public meeting in Nalgonda, he said, “BRS leaders are saying the Congress government should step down and Papala Bairavudu should return. Why should we step down? Should we resign for undertaking the state’s development? Should we step down for issuing ration cards, sanctioning Indiramma houses and distributing superfine rice?”
Terming Harish and KTR as “wolves”, the chief minister said, “Two persons are roaming around Telangana like wolves. They claim that people want the BRS to return to power. No one wants that. Only your family wants it. People have socially boycotted your family.
If anyone talks about the BRS, they will only talk about its history, not its future. No one in KCR’s family speaks the truth. No matter how many lies you tell, the people of Telangana will not believe you. They will not forgive you. The Congress will remain in power until 2034.”
Ready for Assembly session on achievements: CM
Revanth challenged the BRS to seek a special session of the Assembly. “The government is ready to convene a special Assembly session whenever the BRS asks for it. Let us discuss the 10 years of BRS rule, the 12 years of BJP rule at the Centre and the two-and-a-half years of Congress governance in the state. Let us also discuss the manifestos of the BRS, BJP and Congress.
Are you ready for a special session? If you are, write to the Speaker. I will request the Speaker to convene the session. Come to the Assembly and I will explain what the Congress government has done in the last two-and-a-half years,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister launched Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) road projects worth `13,006 crore in Nalgonda and unveiled the project pylon. He also laid the foundation stone for Phase I of the drinking water project for Nalgonda town.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and district in-charge Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar were present.
“Nalgonda people are suffering because of pollution in the Musi. The government is committed to completing the Musi project. I swear that I will complete it. If anyone creates trouble for the project, I will trample them in the Musi river,” he warned.
Alleging that KCR built a farmhouse on 1,000 acres in Gajwel, KTR on 100 acres in Janwada, Harish on 50 acres in Moinabad and MLC K Kavitha on 25 acres in Shankarpally, the chief minister said the previous BRS government had failed to provide houses to the poor.
“If the previous BRS government had sanctioned two lakh houses every year, 20 lakh poor families would have become homeowners over the last 10 years,” he said.
He also accused the previous government of failing to complete the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project and assured people that he would complete both the SLBC and Dindi projects.
Revanth further alleged that the previous BRS government resorted to phone tapping.
“They even listened to conversations between husbands and wives. What should be done to those who listened to private conversations? Should they be beaten with hands or with a rubber belt?” he asked.
Praising minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Revanth said he had sacrificed his ministerial post in the undivided Andhra Pradesh government for the Telangana movement. “BRS leaders claim they made sacrifices and came to power on the strength of those sacrifices.
I ask them, does sacrifice mean resigning, contesting elections and making collections? While you indulged in election, selection and collection, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy resigned from the Cabinet and undertook a fast unto death for Telangana,” he said.
Conspicuous absence of Rajgopal raises eyebrows
The internal rift within the Nalgonda unit of the ruling Congress has once again come to the fore during Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s visit to the district headquarters on Sunday. Conspicuous by his absence was Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who has been sulking for long over being denied a Cabinet berth. While Rajgopal, the younger brother of Roads and Buildings Minister Venkat Reddy, preferred to skip the public meeting addressed by the chief minister, the absence of all key leaders and cadre from his constituency raised quite a few eyebrows, with some suspecting that they had boycotted the event. Rajgopal was believed to have been assured a ministerial berth if he ensured the victory of Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy from Bhongir in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Though Kiran Kumar went on to bag the seat, the grand old party has so far failed to fulfil the “promise” to Rajgopal.
Protocol violation, preemptive arrests
Alerted by intelligence inputs that Rajgopal Reddy’s followers and Youth Congress leaders might stage a protest during the CM’s public meeting, local police reportedly took a few leaders into custody in Munugode and other areas in the early hours of Sunday. Meanwhile, welcome arches and banners erected in Nalgonda town triggered a major controversy over missing photos of some prominent Congress leaders, including DCC president Punna Kailash and Legislative Council chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy. Followers of these senior leaders expressed outrage, alleging that the photos were intentionally omitted in violation of protocol.
Raghuveer’s frustration
Nalgonda MP Kunduru Raghuveer Reddy on Sunday expressed his frustration over ministers’ indifferent attitude during the public meeting. He lauded the ministers from the erstwhile Nalgonda district for efficiency in discharge of their responsibilities but lamented that they were focusing only on their respective constituencies while neglecting other areas in his LS segment. He urged the chief minister to allocate funds for pending projects and other welfare schemes in the Nalgonda LS segment.
Tense conclusion
The situation turned tense when a few local Congress leaders, including former Nalgonda municipal chairman B Srinivas Reddy, Gummula Mohan Reddy and Pasham Ram Reddy, were stopped by security personnel from meeting the chief minister as he was leaving the venue. The leaders, who felt humiliated, got into a heated argument with the security staff. But they were still denied the opportunity to interact with Revanth Reddy.
(With inputs from A Seshacharyulu)