Harish Rao calls for ‘Congress Hatao, Singareni Bachao’ fight to protect SCCL

Former Minister T Harish Rao has called upon SCCL unions and workers to unite under the slogan ‘Congress Hatao, Singareni Bachao’, warning that the Congress government is pushing Singareni towards privatisation.

Kothagudem: Former Minister T Harish Rao has called upon all the SCCL labour unions and employees to fight collectively with the slogan ‘Congress Hatao, Singareni Bachao’ to safeguard the Singareni Company for future generations.

He demanded the Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy order a CBI inquiry and a Central Vigilance probe into the corruption in Singareni. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has brought Singareni to the brink of privatisation. If unions and workers do not fight, setting aside political affiliations, the Congress government would hand it over to Adani and Ambani, he cautioned.

---

Harish Rao made a powerpoint presentation here on Tuesday on the issues being faced by the SCCL and sought to know how 40 lakh metric tonnes of coal vanished. When the BRS questioned it, the government presented figures showing a reduced count; records indicated a daily stock depletion of 40,000 tonnes.

On the other hand, Union Minister Kishan Reddy wrote a letter to Revanth Reddy, the very person responsible for the disappearance of coal. Both Kishan Reddy and Revanth Reddy colluded to betray Singareni, he alleged.

While Telangana Genco should have held 25 lakh tonnes of coal reserves, only six lakh tonnes were available- a deficit of 76 percent. Similarly, at Yadadri power plant, against a required stock of 11 lakh tonnes, only two lakh tonnes were present- an 82 percent deficit.

If the figures related to coal production were indeed accurate and there was no shortage, why was there such a low stock level at Genco, Harish Rao questioned. Production stood at 70 million tonnes in 2023 during the BRS regime, but it has dropped to 58 million tonnes during 2025–26, he said.

Referring to CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao’s reported statement in support of the government claims on coal reserves, Harish Rao asked him to physically show where exactly the coal reserves were present.

The CPI might be an ally of the Congress, but because of it the party should not do an injustice to Singareni. The MLA must decide whether his party would side with the Congress, a party mired in scams or would it stand with the workers, Harish Rao suggested.

He alleged that Singareni was affected by corruption during the two-and-a-half years of Congress rule while listing out the faulty coal tenders and deals that benefitted Revanth Reddy’s family members at the cost of the company’s well being.

Singareni flourished under former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s tenure and as many as 16,000 dependent jobs were provided while bonuses were increased for the workers, Harish Rao added.