Harish Rao calls out Revanth Reddy’s lies on irrigation, water rights

Says BRS will move a privilege motion in both Houses of the Legislature for denying Opposition MLAs and MLCs an invitation to the government's official presentation held at Praja Bhavan

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for misleading the public on Telangana’s irrigation projects and water rights. He said the Congress government was peddling false propaganda against the previous BRS government to divert attention from its failures and cover up decades of Congress misgovernance in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

He said the BRS would move a privilege motion in both Houses of the Legislature for denying Opposition MLAs and MLCs an invitation to the government’s official presentation held at Praja Bhavan on Wednesday, calling the exclusion a blatant violation of democratic norms.

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In a strong rebuttal to the government’s claims at the presentation, Harish Rao said Revanth Reddy and his Ministers were repeatedly insulting public intellect with distorted presentations and fabricated data. Despite the BRS warning the government about urgent needs in the irrigation sector, the Congress government was indulging in theatrics rather than taking corrective action by operating lift irrigation pumps.

The former Irrigation Minister reminded that Telangana faced systematic injustice under successive Congress regimes in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, particularly in irrigation and water allocation. The current Congress government was now indirectly supporting AP politicians to divert Telangana’s share of river waters through the Banakacherla project, ignoring Telangana’s needs once again.

He also challenged Revanth Reddy’s statements on the Pranahita-Chevella project, asking why the Congress had failed to secure approvals or make progress on the project between 2007 and 2014 despite being in power in the State, at the Centre and in Maharashtra. He cited objections from Maharashtra and central agencies as proof to expose the empty rhetoric of the Congress.

Dismissing the Chief Minister’s claim that the Congress irrigated 50 lakh acres in Telangana prior to bifurcation, Harish Rao pointed to official records showing that it was the BRS government which completed pending projects and successfully brought 48.74 lakh acres under cultivation during its tenure. He urged Revanth Reddy to verify facts with records from the Irrigation department.

He also criticised the Congress for downplaying the achievements of the previous BRS government which completed the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme to irrigate 12.3 lakh acres across erstwhile Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, and Nalgonda districts.

Turning to the issue of Medigadda barrage repairs, the senior BRS legislator questioned why the Congress government had not acted despite the National Dam Safety Authority and L&T being ready to begin repairs. “If the barrage is unsafe, why allow vehicular traffic on it? Are you waiting for a mishap to shift blame on the BRS?” he asked.

Harish Rao also hit out at the Congress for agreeing to the 299:512 Krishna water-sharing ratio before State bifurcation and reminded that the BRS government had later filed affidavits seeking 573 TMCft for Telangana before the tribunal to secure its rightful share in river water.

He questioned the Congress government’s motive behind selectively inviting only ruling party leaders to a State-level discussion. “If your offer for debate is genuine, you should have invited us too. Otherwise, stop misusing Praja Bhavan for political drama,” he said.