Kishan Reddy slams Congress for silence on phone-tapping, reiterates BJP’s demand for CBI probes into surveillance and Kaleshwaram corruption
Hyderabad: Union coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday accused the Congress government of “convenient silence” over fresh phone-tapping allegations even though the party had sought a CBI investigation for similar charges during the BRS regime.
At a press conference, Kishan Reddy said the BJP has already informed the Telangana High Court that telephones of politicians, lawyers, business leaders, film personalities and BJP staff, including his own, were illegally monitored. He expressed confidence that the court would direct a comprehensive CBI inquiry and urged the state government to order one without delay.
Turning to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, the minister repeated the BJP’s long-held charge of “massive corruption” in its execution. He cited engineers’ warnings on cost and design and pointed to cracks in the Medigadda barrage as proof. “The BJP’s demand for a CBI probe is unchanged; only the Congress’s stand has changed since it took office,” he said.
On the Banakacharla project, Mr Kishan Reddy said the Centre is still scrutinising the pre-feasibility report. A final decision, he noted, will follow Central Water Commission vetting and strict adherence to water-sharing agreements.
Kishan Reddy asked the Congress government to honour its pledge of 42 per cent reservations for Backward Classes, and pressed the State Election Commission to publish the full quota roster for women, SCs, STs and BCs in advance. The BJP, he added, will contest all seats on its own.
Announcing the first Backward Classes census since Independence, the minister said the digital exercise will begin on 1 March 2027, deploying 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors.
Earlier in the day, Kishan Reddy inspected Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive for MPs to review major public hospitals amid rising Covid-19 cases. He urged staff to maintain strict pandemic protocols.
Kishan Reddy also recalled then-chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s 2019 appeal for inter-state cooperation at Kaleshwaram’s inauguration, accusing present BRS leaders of sowing discord with “baseless allegations”.
