On the river water disputes, Bhatti alleged that the 10-year BRS regime had miserably failed to protect the state’s interests and credit should go to Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy for resolving the issues in favour of Telangana.
Hyderabad: In yet another display of solidarity, Cabinet colleagues of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday rallied behind him in the wake of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao’s allegations that the Chief Minister had been tapping phones of his ministers.
Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy even went to the extent of announcing that neither he, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka nor irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy had any intent to become Chief Minister for the rest of the Congress government’s term and fully backed Revanth Reddy.
Earlier, Rama Rao had alleged that fearing a potential threat for his post, the Chief Minister had been tapping phones of the three senior ministers.
Dismissing Rama Rao’s allegations as baseless, Srinivas Reddy said it was in the BRS culture to eavesdrop on its own leaders and Opposition leaders. “The question of threat does not arise because we are not aspiring for the top post. Revanth will serve his full term,” Srinivas Reddy asserted.
The revenue minister, who played a crucial role in the Congress winning most of the seats in the erstwhile Khammam and Warangal districts, reminded Rama Rao of his challenge to defeat the BRS in all the seats in the undivided Khammam district in 2023. “Now I throw another challenge that BRS will be routed again not only in Khammam but also in the rest of the state,” Srinivas Reddy said.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti also dismissed the allegations and paid back Rama Rao back in his own coin. “For 10 years, they were habituated to tapping our phones and now they assume that our government is also doing the same. I don’t have any information about tapping and he must provide evidence on tapping if he has got any,” Bhatti told mediapersons in Nagarjunasagar.
Bhatti took strong exception to Rama Rao hurling abuses at the Chief Minister and wondered what message the BRS leader was sending to the younger generations. “The frustration of losing power is reflected in his behaviour,” he pointed out.
On the river water disputes, Bhatti alleged that the 10-year BRS regime had miserably failed to protect the state’s interests and credit should go to Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy for resolving the issues in favour of Telangana.
