Hyderabad: BRS working president K T Rama Rao accused both the BJP at the Centre and the Congress government in Telangana of colluding to target former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao through “politically motivated” actions. His remarks came as Congress leader Ukanti Prabhakar Rao and 300 workers from Khammam district joined the BRS in his presence.
KTR defends Kaleshwaram project, calls CBI action political
Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao admitted that the BRS had suffered due to overconfidence in the 2023 Assembly elections and had failed to effectively highlight its welfare and development work. He recalled that before 2014, Telangana ranked 14th in agricultural production, and farmers had no access to water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers. Under KCR’s leadership, he said, irrigation projects ensured that every drop of water from these rivers was redirected to farmlands, placing Telangana first in agricultural output.
KTR defended the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, describing it as the world’s largest of its kind. He said the project was designed after studies showed year-round water availability near Medigadda. Constructed to lift two TMC feet of water daily to Kondapochamma Sagar, the project raised water from 80 to 600 meters in height, providing irrigation, drinking water, and industrial supply. Comparing KCR’s effort to “bringing water from earth to sky,” he alleged that political opponents were now trying to frame the former chief minister in CBI cases despite the project’s benefits.
He pointed out that while Congress leaders often accused the CBI and ED of acting as tools of the BJP, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy continued to hand over cases to them. “This is nothing but a political conspiracy. Telangana’s growth has become an eyesore for some, and that is why both BJP and Congress are engaged in vindictive actions,” KTR said.
Attack on Congress government’s performance
Turning his attack on the state government, Rama Rao said that in the past 21 months Congress had delivered only “dialogues, not work.” He argued that borrowing was essential for development and compared it to running a business where loans ensured rotation and continuity. Criticising Revanth Reddy’s remarks that Telangana’s finances were akin to a “cancer or AIDS patient,” he said such statements would only deter lenders. “Even a man with debts manages his life. But if the chief minister himself describes the state as terminally ill, who will give loans?” KTR asked.
