Situation was worse in BRS with none other than Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter Kavitha raising the banner of revolt against her own brother and party working president KTR
Hyderabad: The unbridled display of defiance and indiscipline by leaders, that too in responsible positions, is causing severe embarrassment to the top leadership of all the three principal political parties – the Congress, the BRS and the BJP.
Four legislators of the Congress took open defiance to a new level on Monday by filing a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Telangana High Court, making several state agencies as respondents. Seeking recovery of a prime piece of land in Khajaguda from a private builder, they argued that it belonged to the government and ended up accusing the state government of inaction.
Vamsiram Builders, which enjoyed the patronage of previous BRS regime, took up a massive real estate project, Manhattan, in Khajaguda in about 25 acres over which there had been a long-pending litigation. “Initially, a powerful BRS minister, whose links with the city’s top builders is an open secret, cleared the project but then Chief Minister K. Chandrashehar Rao, apparently not knowing the involvement of the minister, halted it and the minister too remained calm out of fear. The present Congress government paved way for the launch of the project,” sources told Deccan Chronicle.
Incidentally, these four legislators held a rebel meeting against revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy a few months ago, and one of them, J. Anirudh Reddy, while speaking in the Assembly, openly accused HYDRAA of ignoring his complaints against Vamsiram Builders.
“There could be differences over land issues between the minister and leaders but they should not wash their dirty linen in public and give leverage to the Opposition to ridicule us,” a minister told Deccan Chronicle. “It is unheard of that ruling party MLAs approach the judiciary against their own government agencies,” the minister pointed out.
In sharp contrast to the BJP’s stand on the controversial Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme, its MP and former BRS minister Eatla Rajendar went overboard to heap praises over the project and its great utility. At a time his party was vehemently targeting Chandrashekar Rao and holding him solely responsible for the design, execution, and failure, of the KLIS, Rajendar’s deposition before Justice P.C. Ghose commission, absolving Chandrashekar Rao of the responsibility and invoking the collective responsibility of the Cabinet came as a rude shock to the party.
About the same time, another BJP MP, D. Arvind, put the two Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, in tight spot by demanding that they play a pro-active role and ensure a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the phone-tapping operation during the BRS government tenure to bring the real culprits to fore. Till now, the Union ministers had taken a stand that the state government should deal firmly with the accused in the phone-tapping case.
“It is a field day for all in BJP which was once known for its discipline,” lamented a senior leader referring to the never-ending outbursts of Goshamahal MLA T. Raja Singh against Kishan Reddy and other leaders, openly accusing them of serving BRS interests. For the first time, the Union minister was forced to react to Raja Singh and question the MLA’s standing in the party, though indirectly.
Situation was even worse in BRS with none other than Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter Kavitha raising the banner of revolt against her own brother and party working president K.T. Rama Rao. She not only questioned the party supremo’s recent action or inaction on important issues concerning Telangana but also dropped a bombshell that efforts were made by a few top BRS leaders to merge the party into BJP.
“Though she paused her moves on floating a new party, she may have to eventually part ways in the backdrop of KCR’s anger against her,” said a party leader adding that more skeletons would come out once the war between brother and sister begins.
