Anti-Telangana forces targeting KCR, KTR under media guise, says Jagadish Reddy

BRS leader G Jagadish Reddy accused certain media outlets of running a smear campaign against K Chandrashekhar Rao and KT Rama Rao in the name of journalism. He dismissed the phone tapping row as a political ploy and defended the party’s protest at Maha News

Hyderabad: BRS senior MLA and former Minister G Jagadish Reddy said a section of the media, backed by anti-Telangana forces, was conspiring to malign party president K Chandrashekhar Rao and working president KT Rama Rao in the name of reporting on the phone tapping case. He said media organisations should not publish or telecast unverified and misleading news in the name of journalism.

Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on Monday, Jagadish Reddy said politically motivated media houses were running slaughterhouses in the name of journalism by spreading baseless news and irresponsibly using images of Chandrashekhar Rao and Rama Rao. “Is there any official press meet on this case? Who is feeding them information, and with what authority?” he questioned.

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He said the BRS did not attack the Mahaa News office but staged a protest reflecting public anger. “If it was an attack, the result would have been different,” he remarked, asserting that people will not remain silent when their leaders are targeted unfairly.

The senior BRS legislator blamed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for failing to defend Telangana’s interests, calling him a puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He also alleged that Chandrababu Naidu’s swift response to the incident was evidence of prior knowledge, suggesting a pre-planned smear campaign.

Ridiculing Chandrababu Naidu’s remarks against the alleged attack on the news channel office, Jagadish Reddy asked whether the former was endorsing the derogatory media content against Chandrashekhar Rao and Rama Rao. He said certain people were acting like descendants of Raja Harishchandra and giving statements on freedom of speech and media attacks, forgetting the attacks on Deccan Chronicle and Sakshi media offices by TDP and Janasena activists.

Dismissing the phone tapping row as a political ploy, the former Minister said even his phone was tapped during the Telangana movement, yet the BRS continued its agitation. He criticised selective outrage by the media against the previous BRS government over cracks at the Medigadda barrage, while maintaining silence over collapsing bridges in BJP and Congress-ruled States. He reiterated that the BRS had immense respect for responsible media but warned that false propaganda under the guise of journalism would not be tolerated.