KT Rama Rao accuses Congress, BJP of compromising Telangana’s interests

BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the Congress and BJP of compromising Telangana's interests and failing to protect its water, financial and employment rights. Addressing Prof K Jayashankar's birth anniversary event, he called for renewed efforts to safeguard Telangana's identity and self-rule.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao charged the Congress and the BJP with failing to protect the interests of Telangana and pushing the State once again into a subordinate position under Delhi’s control. He called for a renewed fight for Telangana’s identity, self-respect and self-rule.

Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on the birth anniversary of Telangana ideologue Prof K Jayashankar on Thursday, Rama Rao said Andhra Pradesh was attempting to undermine Telangana’s water interests by influencing the Centre. He said such a situation would not have arisen if the BRS, which was formed for Telangana, had been in power.

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Referring to the proposed review of clearances for seven Telangana projects by the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) following Andhra Pradesh’s request, he said BRS deputy leader T Harish Rao had already explained how Telangana’s interests were being compromised. “Delhi parties have once again left Telangana struggling,” he said.

Rama Rao stated that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had travelled to Delhi 75 times in 32 months, terming his frequent visits a sign of dependence on his Delhi bosses. He accused the Chief Minister of failing to protect Telangana’s water, financial and employment interests, while even the available water was not being utilised as the pumps of the Kaleshwaram and other lift irrigation projects remained inactive.

“Revanth Reddy appears to be working to protect the interests of his mentor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu rather than Telangana’s interests,” he remarked, adding that the Congress and BJP leaders had mortgaged their self-respect before their Delhi bosses without asserting Telangana’s identity.

The BRS working president questioned the silence of Congress and BJP MPs after a BJP MP allegedly compared the formation of Telangana with the creation of Pakistan in Parliament. “Would a BRS MP have remained silent?” he asked.

Recalling his association with Prof Jayashankar, Rama Rao described him as an encyclopaedia with deep knowledge of every subject and immense patience in sharing it with others. He said Jayashankar strongly believed that the Telangana movement had three dimensions: ideological propagation, agitation and its transformation into a political force.

“For KCR and several others like us, Prof Jayashankar was a guru and mentor who guided us throughout the Telangana movement,” he said. He ridiculed Revanth Reddy for not recognising ideologues like Prof Jayashankar and R Vidyasagar Rao as Telangana’s intellectuals and instead praising politicians like S Jaipal Reddy and K Keshava Rao during a recent meeting.

The former Minister also attacked the government over the alleged delay in filling the promised jobs, stating that unemployed youth were continuing their struggle. He questioned the Congress leadership over its promise to provide two lakh jobs in the first year.

Calling the Congress a permanent enemy of Telangana, Rama Rao said the BRS would continue working to fulfil Jayashankar’s vision and bring Telangana back under the leadership of K Chandrashekhar Rao.

Leader of Opposition in the Council S Madhusudanachari, former Ministers G Jagadish Reddy, S Niranjan Reddy and Mohd Mahamood Ali, MLCs Deshapati Srinivas and Surabhi Vani Devi, along with several other senior leaders, also paid rich tributes to Prof Jayashankar and shared their association with him during the statehood movement.