Revanth Dares KCR for Debate

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched a scathing attack on top BRS leaders, including party president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, working president K.T. Rama Rao and former minister T. Harish Rao, alleging internal power struggles and accusing the previous BRS regime of compromising Telangana’s interests, particularly on the Krishna river water sharing.

Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Revanth Reddy said Chandrashekhar Rao was no longer active in politics and had confined himself to his farmhouse, while Rama Rao and Harish Rao were locked in a tussle to assert control over the BRS.

The Chief Minister said the recent gram panchayat election results were a clear indication of Chandrashekhar Rao’s declining political relevance. He pointed out that in the Gajwel Assembly constituency, represented by Chandrashekhar Rao, the Congress had secured a majority of gram panchayats, which he described as a rejection of the BRS chief’s leadership by the people themselves.

Revanth Reddy said the Congress had defeated Chandrashekhar Rao when he was still active in politics and that the latest local body results further underlined the public mood against the BRS chief.

Taking strong exception to Chandrashekhar Rao’s proposed move to launch a public movement on protecting Telangana’s river water rights, Revanth Reddy accused the former chief minister of attempting to divert attention from his own failures.

He referred to Chandrashekhar Rao’s plan to convene a meeting of BRS leaders at the party headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, on December 21 to finalise a roadmap on river waters, and dared him to debate the issue on the floor of the Assembly instead.

The Chief Minister said he was prepared to convene a special Assembly session at any time Chandrashekhar Rao desired to hold a detailed discussion on Krishna and Godavari waters.

Revanth Reddy alleged that it was during the BRS regime that Telangana suffered the greatest injustice in river water sharing. He claimed that Chandrashekhar Rao had agreed to a mere 299 TMC of Krishna waters and had signed documents, compromising the state’s long-term interests. He further alleged that despite being in power for nearly a decade, the BRS government failed to secure clearances for even a single major project in the Krishna basin.

The Chief Minister said the Congress was ready to place facts and documentary evidence before the Assembly to establish how Telangana’s interests were undermined during the BRS rule.

Referring to the internal situation within the BRS, Revanth Reddy said Rama Rao’s district tours, described by the party as victory celebrations following the gram panchayat polls, were an attempt to mask deepening factionalism.

He claimed that sections within the BRS, particularly those aligned with Harish Rao, had begun circulating demands on social media for Rama Rao’s removal as working president.

According to him, no election had been won by the BRS since Rama Rao took over as working president, and the ongoing tours were aimed at preventing the leadership issue from coming into open debate.

Mocking the BRS leadership, Revanth Reddy said some leaders were projecting the party’s limited success in about 25 per cent of gram panchayats as a 'wonder'.

He predicted that the same “wonder” would be repeated in the 2029 Assembly elections, with the BRS restricted to about one-third of the seats, while the Congress would secure a decisive two-thirds majority and continue in power for a second term.