BRS hits back at Bandi Sanjay, defends Kaleshwaram project against ‘false propaganda’

BRS leaders slam Union Minister Bandi Sanjay for making ‘false propaganda’ against the Kaleshwaram project; defending its cost and impact, they accuse him of siding with Congress, misleading the public, and ignoring recent irrigation failures under the current government

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leaders on Monday launched a scathing attack on Union Minister and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay, stating that he was spreading misinformation about the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and conspiring with the Congress to sabotage Telangana’s irrigation interests.

Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan, former Minister and MLA Gangula Kamalakar questioned whether Sanjay was acting as a BJP leader or a Congress spokesperson, accusing him of selectively quoting the Central Water Commission (CWC) report to mislead the public. He likened Sanjay’s statements to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s political script.

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“Bandi claims that 165 TMCft is available at Tummidihatti, but conceals the fact that Telangana was allocated only 44 TMCft,” Kamalakar pointed out. This constraint, he said, led former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to shift the project to Medigadda, where assured water availability justified the decision.

Refuting allegations of a Rs 1.24 lakh crore scam, Kamalakar clarified that the project cost remained under Rs 1 lakh crore, far less than several national irrigation projects, and had significantly boosted Telangana’s irrigation capacity, reservoir infrastructure, and daily lift capability. He reminded that the Centre, responding in Parliament to queries by the then MP Revanth Reddy, had denied any corruption in the project. Kamalakar questioned how BJP leaders could now contradict the Centre’s official stand.

He also asked why Sanjay was silent on recent incidents such as the collapse of Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel that killed eight workers, damage to Sunkishala retaining wall, flooding at Pedda Vaagu and Vattem project pumphouse submergence.

Former MP B Vinod Kumar challenged Union Ministers Bandi Sanjay and G Kishan Reddy to obtain national project status and clearances for Tummidihatti at 152 metres if they believed it was a viable option. He accused Sanjay of indulging in personal vendettas and mocked his claim that national status for KLIP would have tarnished the BJP’s image due to cracks in the Medigadda piers.

“Is Sanjay willing to say that the damaged diaphragm wall at the Centre-funded Polavaram project also damaged the BJP’s credibility?” he asked.

MLC Dasoju Sravan alleged that Sanjay was merely parroting Revanth Reddy’s statements to prevent former Minister and Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender from rising within the BJP.

He accused Sanjay of staying silent on the Chief Minister’s alleged involvement in the vote-for-note and ED cases.

MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and Dr K Sanjay also slammed Sanjay’s statements as hypocritical and challenged him to an open debate on the impact of Kaleshwaram on ayacut stabilisation and expansion. They accused BJP MPs of betraying Telangana’s interests to advance their political ambitions and warned that attempts to defame KLIP would be seen as insults to Telangana’s farmers.