Opposition goes ballistic, states Revanth misled Assembly, Uttam spun water myths

Former Minister and BRS Deputy Floor Leader in Assembly T. Harish Rao on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government, alleging systematic betrayal of Telangana’s river water rights, irrigation projects, and farmers. In a detailed PowerPoint presentation at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao said Congress has been the “number one villain” of Telangana from the pre-formation period to the present day.

He stated that even before statehood, Congress ignored the Fazal Ali Commission’s recommendations and merged Telangana with Andhra Pradesh, resulting in decades of injustice. During state bifurcation too, Congress allegedly failed Telangana by not including key projects like Palamuru–Rangareddy in the 11th Schedule. Harish Rao asserted that the warnings consistently given by KCR over the years have now proven to be “absolute truths.”

Harish Rao accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy of misleading the Assembly with “fabricated stories and blatant lies.” He alleged that the present government is conspiring to hand over Krishna projects to the KRMB, has entered into backdoor agreements on Godavari projects like Banakacherla, and has deliberately neglected major Telangana irrigation projects such as Kaleshwaram and Palamuru.

He said minor repairs costing Rs. 100–200 crore could restore irrigation to 5–6 lakh acres under Kaleshwaram, but the Congress government has not spent even Rs. 2 on the project in two years, driven by political vendetta against North Telangana and farmers. He added that Palamuru district has been targeted out of political hostility, with crucial works like Package-3 and Budda Kalva left incomplete, denying the state the ability to store 50 TMC of water this year alone.

Highlighting comparative data, Harish Rao said that between 2004 and 2014, the Congress created only 5.71 lakh acres of new ayacut, while the BRS government created 17.24 lakh acres of new ayacut and stabilized 31.5 lakh acres within just nine and a half years, despite COVID-19, demonetization, and the challenges of a new state. He noted that while Congress added an average of 57,000 acres per year, BRS achieved over 1.81 lakh acres annually.

On river water allocations, Harish Rao stated that Congress and TDP together secured only 265 TMC of Godavari water in 60 years, while the KCR government secured rights to 383 TMC, averaging 40 TMC per year. He emphasized that KCR relentlessly fought the Centre through letters and legal measures, securing Section 3 of the AP Reorganisation Act, which paved the way for Krishna water redistribution and tribunal hearings.

Harish Rao alleged that under Congress rule in 2024–25, Telangana recorded the lowest-ever utilization of Krishna waters at just 28.49 percent, calling it another grave injustice. He criticized the Congress government for withdrawing DPRs, failing to obtain a single clearance in two years, and presiding over project collapses and accidents, including SLBC.

Harish Rao said BRS will not remain silent. “Power is not important to us; Telangana people’s rights are,” he asserted, warning of a renewed mass movement if Congress continues to compromise the state’s water interests.

KTR questions Revanth’s understanding of irrigation

Bharat Rashtra Samithi Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Sunday strongly questioned Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s understanding of irrigation, river basins and water-sharing mechanisms, alleging that the Chief Minister lacked even basic knowledge of tribunals, projects and basin concepts critical to Telangana’s future. Speaking at Telangana Bhavan during a PowerPoint presentation organised by BRS on river water issues, KTR said it was unfortunate that a person with no clarity on Krishna and Godavari basins, or on the Bachawat and Brijesh Kumar Tribunals, was occupying the Chief Minister’s chair.

He described it as a grave misfortune for Telangana that such ignorance was being masked with abusive language and political theatrics. KTR said the PowerPoint presentation, by former Irrigation Minister Harish Rao, aimed to place before the people the historical injustices done to Telangana in river water sharing. He asserted that the damage to Telangana’s water rights occurred during 65 years of Congress rule and 17 years of TDP governance before 2014, and not during the BRS regime. He added that the KCR government made sincere efforts after state formation to rectify these long-standing injustices.

Criticising the Congress leadership, KTR said repeated references to death and capital punishment by the Chief Minister reflected arrogance and disrespect for democratic values. 

He accused Congress of betraying the people by failing to implement major promises such as two lakh jobs, farm loan waiver and 42 per cent BC reservations, stating that people must hold the party accountable for what he termed “420 unfulfilled guarantees.”

KTR also alleged total administrative failure under the present government, citing farmer suicides, infrastructure collapses, irrigation-related accidents and the inability of the government to respond effectively to crises. He strongly defended former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, calling him a leader who dedicated his life to the Telangana movement and implemented humane welfare schemes for farmers and the poor.

He asserted that BRS would continue its fight to protect Telangana’s interests and expose the incompetence, arrogance and betrayal of the Congress government.