Krishna water row: Harish Rao dares Revanth Reddy to confront Chandrababu Naidu
Harish Rao dismissed Revanth Reddy's claims, stating that the Chief Minister had done nothing except criticise former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao
Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao tore into Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s allegations against the BRS at the Wanaparthy public meeting, charging him with indulging in political theatrics instead of safeguarding Telangana’s water interests. He challenged Revanth Reddy to confront his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu over illegal diversion of Krishna River water and ensure justice to Telangana, instead of indulging in baseless rhetoric.
In a point-by-point rebuttal, Harish Rao dismissed Revanth Reddy’s claims, stating that the Chief Minister had done nothing except criticise former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. “Wherever he goes, he spews venom against Chandrashekhar Rao, but fails to explain why Congress has not fulfilled its 100-day promises,” he said.
He reminded that despite 68 per cent of the Krishna basin catchment area lying in Telangana, successive Congress Chief Ministers in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had turned the region into a drought-stricken area. He said the Congress ruled erstwhile AP for over 60 years, but neglected Palamuru forcing lakhs of people to migrate for livelihood.
The BRS leader rebuked the Chief Minister’s allegations that the BRS neglected the Congress-era projects, calling it “the joke of the millennium.” He reminded that it was Revanth Reddy, as TDP leader, who termed the Congress government’s “Jalayagnam” (water fest) initiative as a “Dhanayagnam” (loot fest).
“The successive Congress governments laid foundation stones, collected advances and looted funds, while BRS completed the work that Congress abandoned,” he said.
Listing out the BRS’s irrigation achievements, Harish Rao stated that under the BRS regime, around 12 lakh acres of ayacut was created in Palamuru region through multiple projects including 3.07 lakh acres under Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme, 1.42 lakh acres under Nettempadu LIS, 1.58 lakh acres under Bheema LIS, and 87,500 acres under RDS through Tummilla LIS, besides restoration of 6,410 tanks under Mission Kakatiya which benefited 3.22 lakh acres.
Ridiculing Revanth Reddy’s emotional claims of being the son of Palamuru region, Harish Rao stated that calling oneself a son of Palamuru meant nothing if he did not work for his people. “People of Palamuru are hardworking, unlike Revanth Reddy, who only talks big but delivers little,” he remarked.
The former Irrigation Minister blamed the Congress for failing to create storage capacity in the Krishna River basin. “Not a single major reservoir was taken up under the Congress rule. BRS, in contrast, built 67 TMC of storage capacity in Palamuru region alone,” he added.
He held the Congress responsible for creating legal hurdles and causing delay in completion of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS). “Your cases in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) delayed the project. Yet, the BRS government completed over 80 per cent construction work of PRLIS. If not for the Congress, the remaining 20 per cent of the work would have been completed,” he remarked.
Referring to the SLBC tunnel collapse, Harish Rao lambasted the Congress government for pushing workers to their deaths for political gains. He stated that despite warnings from engineers and workers, the government pushed for taking up the works without conducting necessary precautionary examination before resuming the work. He dared the government to order for a judicial probe by a sitting judge to unearth facts.
Further, the BRS MLA questioned why Revanth Reddy is remaining silent, while Chandrababu Naidu is diverting 10,000 cusecs of Krishna River water daily. “Instead of fighting for Telangana’s rights, you are protecting Naidu. If you have courage, question him on this issue, instead of mudslinging against the BRS,” he challenged.
Exposing the Chief Minister’s double standards, he questioned why BRS leaders were stopped from visiting the SLBC accident site, while BJP leaders were allowed. He also demanded to know why the BJP was silent on the accident, despite the party making huge cry over cracks in Medigadda barrage during the Assembly elections.
Countering allegations that BRS neglected SLBC, Harish Rao revealed that the K Chandrashekhar Rao government spent Rs 3,900 crore between 2014 and 2023 to excavate 11.48 km of the SLBC tunnel.
He rubbished Revanth Reddy’s allegations on friendly relations with Andhra Pradesh leaders, stating that the BRS maintained dignified relations with Andhra Pradesh, but never compromised on Telangana’s rights and interests, unlike Revanth Reddy who attempted to topple the Telangana government while serving his Andhra masters.
