HYDERABAD: Alleging that former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s family illegally acquired assets worth lakhs of crores, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Thursday claimed that the former did not own even a single acre of agricultural land in 2004 but his family’s land and other properties grew substantially during the 10-year rule of BRS.
In a post on ‘X’ platform, the minister said that KCR’s own election affidavits show a dramatic increase in his landholdings and assets over the years.
“KCR had stated in his 2004 Lok Sabha election affidavit from Karimnagar that he owns zero acres of land. Then how did he subsequently come to possess land and other assets worth thousands of crores?” he asked.
The minister further alleged that increase in Chandrasekhar Rao’s family wealth was linked to “illegal acquisition of government land, land belonging to poor people and assigned lands allotted to Dalits”.
“The Kalvakuntla family accumulated assets worth lakhs of crores on the foundation of sacrifices of Telangana activists,” he added.
Slamming BRS working president KT Rama Rao for claiming that KCR had inherited hundreds of acres of land, he sought to know if the former chief minister provided wrong information in his election affidavits or KTR was misleading the public with his claims on KCR’s ancestral landholdings.
‘How did landholdings of KTR increase manifold?’
Srinivasa Reddy also questioned Rama Rao’s landholdings. In another post on X, the minister alleged that the former minister, who had spoken over the years about his “American success” and his family’s landholdings, had declared only around one acre of land in his 2009 election affidavit.
“How did the landholding subsequently expand into hundreds of acres and assets worth thousands of crores?” he asked, while alleging that the large tracts of land were acquired illegally with the backing of political powers and through the then government’s Dharani land records system.
He also referred to allegations raised by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in the Legislative Assembly concerning land transactions involving members of the Kalvakuntla family. “The chief minister presented documents in the Assembly,” he said while alleging irregularities in land deals involving the family.
“While families of Telangana activists who died during the statehood movement faced financial difficulties, KCR’s family accumulated assets running into thousands of crores during the BRS rule,” he said, alleging that the former chief minister’s family wealth was built on the sacrifices of Telangana martyrs and the struggles of statehood activists.
Taking a dig at Rama Rao, he said: “Those who accumulated wealth during the ‘family rule’ are now preaching about governance and ethics to the people of Telangana.”
