Not Kaleshwaram, Congress lies collapse: KTR hits back

BRS working president KT Rama Rao welcomed the High Court verdict on the PC Ghose Commission, calling it a victory for Telangana and farmers. He accused the Congress of misinformation and urged immediate repairs to the Medigadda barrage

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Wednesday welcomed the High Court’s verdict on the PC Ghose Commission which probed alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project. He called it a clear victory for the people and farmers of Telangana, and a decisive rebuttal to sustained misinformation by the Congress government.

He wanted the State government to set aside petty politics and focus on delivering promises made to the people of Telangana. “Conduct as many inquiries as you want, but do not punish farmers,” he said, urging the government to expedite the repair works of Medigadda barrage.

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Speaking to mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan here, Rama Rao said the judgment dismantled the alleged conspiracy by the Congress around the multi-crore and multi-level irrigation project. He accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Congress leaders of indulging in reckless propaganda by branding Kaleshwaram as “Kooleshwaram” (loosely meant collapsed project).

“Not the project, but the Congress’ false narrative has collapsed with the court verdict,” he said.

The BRS working president declared that the verdict vindicated BRS’ long-standing claim that the report released by the Congress government was not an authentic PC Ghose Commission report but politically motivated and prepared by the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee). He said the High Court’s observations have now put an end to the false propaganda being spread by the Congress against the project.

“The High Court judgement is a tight slap on the face of the Congress government and its leaders who have been spreading false propaganda against the project,” he said. He urged the government to stop acting and start lifting water, asking it to focus on repairs and restoration instead of political blame games. He warned that continued delays would only hurt farmers dependent on irrigation.

Referring to past criticism by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had alleged structural failures at the project site, Rama Rao said such claims were exaggerated and misleading. He added that the High Court verdict had effectively dispelled those assertions.

The former Minister alleged that after the collapse of two pillars in the Rs 94,000-crore project, which required repairs estimated at Rs 400 crore, the Congress government attempted to stall restoration work by intimidating contractors. He accused both Congress and the BJP of colluding to undermine Telangana’s irrigation interests.

“You cannot fool all the people, all the time. Truth will always prevail,” he remarked, adding that the Kaleshwaram project was a permanent solution to Telangana’s struggle for drinking and irrigation water for several decades. He also suspected the role of Congress leaders in the collapse of two piers of the Medigadda barrage and hoped that a thorough police investigation will bring out the facts.

Rama Rao thanked the judiciary for the ruling which reaffirmed the significance of the Kaleshwaram project as a lifeline for the State’s agrarian economy. He credited former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for conceiving and executing the project, stating it would endure as long as the Godavari river flows.