Revanth Plans Assembly Session on River Waters on Dec. 29
According to sources, the Chief Minister wants to place all facts before the Assembly and the public to counter what he sees as attempts by the BRS to revive Telangana sentiment for political survival.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is learnt to have decided to convene the Winter Session of the Assembly from December 29, with plans to hold a special debate to highlight how the state’s interests were allegedly compromised in Krishna and Godavari river water sharing during the decade-long previous BRS regime.
The move comes against the backdrop of BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announcing a mass movement to safeguard Telangana’s river water rights.
According to sources, the Chief Minister wants to place all facts before the Assembly and the public to counter what he sees as attempts by the BRS to revive Telangana sentiment for political survival. Revanth Reddy is of the view that the previous BRS government failed to protect the state’s share in interstate river waters while prioritising political considerations over long-term interests.
During an informal Cabinet meeting with ministers at the Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC) here on Monday, which lasted for over two hours, several key political and administrative issues were discussed. The major focus, however, was on the upcoming Assembly session and the strategy to effectively counter the BRS narrative on river water sharing and irrigation projects.
Revanth Reddy reportedly told the ministers that Chandrashekar Rao was trying to prevent the political erosion of the BRS by inflaming Telangana sentiment under the pretext of Krishna water disputes and the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme (PRLIS).
He is said to have remarked that the BRS was facing a steady decline after defeats in successive elections, beginning with the 2023 Assembly polls and continuing through the recent gram panchayat elections.
With elections to mandal parishads, zilla parishads, municipalities, municipal corporations and the GHMC approaching, the Chief Minister felt that Chandrashekar Rao was making a last-ditch effort to regain relevance.
He asked ministers and Congress MLAs to be fully prepared for a fact-based debate in the Assembly to expose what he described as the BRS government’s failure to complete even a single major project on the Krishna river in ten years and its responsibility for the collapse of the Kaleshwaram project on the Godavari, built at a cost exceeding `1 lakh crore.
Revanth Reddy called for unity within the party and urged leaders to work collectively to ensure a decisive victory in the forthcoming ZPTC and MPTC elections, which will be fought on party lines. Expressing satisfaction over Congress-backed candidates winning nearly 69 per cent of sarpanch posts in the recent Gram Panchayat polls, he set an ambitious target of securing all 31 Zilla Parishads.
The Chief Minister said the government would decide on the timing of ZPTC and MPTC elections after consulting all parties during the Assembly session, adding that the polls were likely to be held after Sankranti in January.
