HYDERABAD: The Congress has stepped up its attack on the BRS over alleged landholdings and farmhouses of its leaders, with TPCC media committee chairman and Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy leading a party delegation to inspect a farmhouse allegedly belonging to former minister and BRS MLA G Jagadish Reddy at Shamshabad on Monday.
Accompanied by several MLAs, MLCs and party leaders, Kiran Kumar used the visit to question the properties allegedly accumulated by BRS leaders and their associates, accusing the previous ruling party of introducing a “farmhouse culture” in Telangana.
He said Congress leaders were inspecting farmhouses to bring the “facts before the people of Telangana”. Kiran Kumar claimed that members of the Kalvakuntla family were in possession of more than 400 acres spread across nine districts, 24 mandals and 33 gram panchayats.
Responding to criticism from the BRS over Congress MPs, MLAs and MLCs visiting farmhouses, he questioned why the party was objecting to the inspections. He alleged that while the Nizams had accumulated assets over nearly 200 years, the KCR family had acquired substantial assets within a decade.
Kiran Kumar also linked the issue to the Telangana movement, saying several people who participated in its first phase lost their properties, while activists such as Gaddar, Professor K Jayashankar and M Kodandaram did not acquire wealth through the movement. He recalled that around 1,600 people lost their lives during the statehood movement.
Turning to Jagadish Reddy, whom he described as a close associate of KCR, Kiran Kumar questioned how the former minister came to own a farmhouse at Shamshabad despite having no political connection with the constituency.
He claimed Jagadish Reddy’s 2009 election affidavit showed assets worth around `12 lakh and alleged that his declared assets increased substantially in the 2014, 2018 and 2023 elections.
He further claimed that Jagadish Reddy had constructed a farmhouse spread over about 50 acres in Survey Nos. 162 and 223 at Shamshabad.
Kiran Kumar contrasted this with the family of Uppala Malsur, whom he said had served as an MLA from Suryapet four times but had applied for an Indiramma housing scheme.
He alleged that KCR’s farmhouse was followed by one built by Harish Rao and that Rama Rao, other BRS leaders and their associates subsequently constructed farmhouses. He also named Jagadish Reddy and Pilot Rohith Reddy among those who, he alleged, acquired farmhouses.
Drawing a comparison with the Nizam-era system, Kiran Kumar alleged that lands once associated with the ruling
elite were now being used for luxury constructions by BRS leaders. He further alleged that Inam lands had been encroached upon in the name of farmhouses.
Kiran Kumar demanded that any Inam lands found within Jagadish Reddy’s farmhouse be immediately identified and distributed to poor beneficiaries.
PEOPLE LAUGHING AT CONGRESS LEADERS’ FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR, SAYS JAGADISH
Suryapet: Slamming Congress MPs and MLAs for visiting lands belonging to BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, T Harish Rao, and himself, former minister G Jagadish Reddy said that “people are laughing at their foolish behaviour.” Alleging that everything Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said in the Assembly was “completely false and rubbish”, the Suryapet MLA said leaders who went to conduct “surveys” based on misplaced advice have lost the respect of the people.
Jagadish clarified that they do not even own half the assets possessed by the Congress MPs and MLAs who are making a fuss in the name of surveys. Wondering why the Congress leaders were wasting public money by making unnecessary visits, he said, “Local Dalits themselves gave a fitting reply to the officials and Congress leaders who went to survey KCR’s lands.” “Why are they wasting time and money on new surveys when KT Rama Rao, Harish Rao and I clearly mentioned all our asset details in our election affidavits?” he asked.
The former minister also sought to know who was bearing the expenses of the MPs, MLAs, and officials moving around their properties. “If there are land issues, the district collectors, RDOs, and tahsildars will look into them. If there are cases or disputes, the police will deal with them,” he said, asking, “Why are Congress leaders indulging in cheap tricks?”
