Top betrayers of Telangana: Naidu leads, Revanth follows, says Harish Rao

BRS leader Harish Rao accused CM Revanth Reddy of betraying Telangana’s interests, erasing its identity, and backing AP’s Banakacherla project. Speaking at the BRSV meet, he warned of a conspiracy to rewrite Telangana’s history and vowed protests to protect State rights.

Hyderabad: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government, former Minister and senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao on Thursday said, “If the history of Telangana’s betrayers is written, the name of N Chandrababu Naidu would come first, followed by Revanth Reddy.”

Addressing the BRS Vidyarthi (BRSV) state-level conference in Hyderabad, Harish Rao accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of betraying the Telangana movement and the State’s interests. He recalled how Revanth, during the Telangana agitation, handed over only a photocopy of his resignation to the Speaker and fled the scene instead of standing firm like BRS leaders.

---

“Revanth earned the title ‘Rifle Reddy’ for pointing guns at Telangana activists,” Rao said, invoking a proverb: “As long as lions don’t tell their story, the hunter’s tale prevails.” He called upon youth to document and narrate the role of KCR in the movement to protect Telangana’s legacy, warning of systematic efforts to erase its history.

He alleged that Revanth Reddy was tampering with Telangana’s cultural identity by removing KCR’s name from textbooks, altering the Telangana Talli statue, eliminating Bathukamma celebrations, and avoiding tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar’s statue.

“There is a conspiracy to wipe out the Telangana movement’s history,” he said, underlining the pivotal role of youth during the 1969 movement and later during the statehood agitation under KCR’s leadership.

“Every movement begins with the youth. KCR brought hundreds of young leaders into politics,” he noted, hailing the former Chief Minister as a visionary who prioritised Telangana’s progress over political vendetta.

Harish Rao also criticised Revanth Reddy for prioritising national leaders over regional identity, saying, “Revanth Reddy never says ‘Jai Telangana’ but chants ‘Jai Delhi’, ‘Jai Sonia’ and ‘Jai Modi’.”

He accused the Chief Minister of being obsessed with KCR and trying to tarnish his image in every speech. Rao alleged that Revanth Reddy’s reported support for Andhra Pradesh’s Banakacherla project was a direct betrayal of Telangana’s water rights.

Highlighting KCR’s contributions, Rao credited him with transforming the State’s irrigation landscape by diverting Godavari and Krishna waters to drought-prone regions, ensuring 95% of jobs for locals under presidential orders, and increasing the State budget from Rs 62,000 crore to over Rs 3 lakh crore.

In contrast, he accused Revanth of diverting Telangana’s water to Andhra Pradesh and funds to Rahul Gandhi and Delhi, claiming a broader alliance of Congress, BJP, and TDP was working against the State.

“Water to Babu and funds to Rahul Gandhi, this is the reality of Revanth’s governance,” Rao charged.

The conference, attended by BRSV president Gellu Srinivas Yadav, former Minister G Jagadish Reddy, MLC Deshapathi Srinivas, and BRS working president KT Rama Rao, resolved to launch a protest campaign against the Banakacherla project.

Harish Rao urged the youth to stand united and resist the alleged conspiracy to divert Telangana’s water, calling it a fight to protect the State’s rights.