Bhatti Vikramarka challenges KTR to prove allegations or apologize

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu delivered a sharp response to MLA KT Rama Rao’s remarks on “percentages” during a debate on the Budget. He challenged KTR to either substantiate his claims with proof or issue a formal apology to the Legislative Assembly and the people of Telangana.

“We entered politics with a sense of duty, representing the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the working class. Unlike you, we did not exploit the State’s resources. Members speaking in the House must do so with integrity and responsibility. Do you think you can escape accountability with reckless statements?” Bhatti Vikramarka lashed out during the discussion.

Addressing the Speaker, he questioned how certain members could make baseless claims under the guise of debate. He highlighted that the previous government had left Rs 40,000 crore in unpaid dues for various works, with a total of Rs 1 lakh crore in pending bills. As a result, contractors and workers were forced to make repeated visits to the Secretariat seeking their payments.

The Deputy CM also condemned what he called "false claims" by BRS MLAs regarding government initiatives like Rajiv Gandhi Civils and Abhaya Hastham. Clarifying the Congress government's intent, he stated that financial incentives were being provided to Civil Services aspirants qualifying for Mains and Interviews, with the aim of enhancing the State’s reputation and ensuring better representation in national governance.

On land reforms, Bhatti Vikramarka recalled that Congress governments, inspired by armed peasant struggles, granted land rights to cultivators. He cited the contributions of former CM Burugula Ramakrishna Rao in securing rights for farmers and tenant farmers, a policy further reinforced by Congress-led land reforms in the 1970s.

However, he accused the BRS government of reversing these reforms through the "draconian" Dharani Act, which replaced the cultivator column with the pattadar column. He argued that this move effectively stripped farmers of their hard-won land rights and forced them into bureaucratic struggles.

"While Congress governments distributed land to 24 lakh farmers, BRS manipulated the Dharani system, pushing lakhs of farmers into endless rounds of government offices. They granted unchecked powers to Tehsildars to register land without proper verification. The land rights won through prolonged struggles were trampled upon," he alleged.

Reaffirming the Congress government's commitment to scrapping the Dharani portal, he declared, “We promised the people that Dharani would be thrown into the Bay of Bengal. They trusted us and elected us.”

Bhatti Vikramarka further highlighted the historic role of Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao in distributing land to the poor. He recalled how, in the 1970s, the Naxalbari movement led many landlords to voluntarily relinquish their lands, enabling cultivators to gain ownership rights. However, he accused BRS of reversing this progress by reintroducing a system that favored landlords and undermined the rights of cultivators.

"The BRS government abolished the occupation column, reinstated the pattadar category, and facilitated the return of Jagirdars and Zamindars as landowners," he alleged.

With these strong remarks, Bhatti Vikramarka reiterated the Congress government’s stance on land rights and governance, positioning it as a champion of the working class while accusing BRS of betrayal.

War of words between KTR and Bhatti

On Wednesday, the Telangana Assembly was disrupted by a confrontation between the ruling Congress and BRS working president KT Rama Rao over accusations of corruption.

Government Whip Adi Srinivas accused BRS MLAs of putting out a drama and breaking Assembly rules by holding protests in the lobbies and at the Assembly entrance during the budget demands' discussion. He called for action against the opposition MLAs, saying that their corruption and irregularities led them to join the opposition.

KTR strongly objected to Srinivas' comments, saying that he was raising pointless concerns. He remembered how he had been in the House for 16 years, starting when he was a rookie MLA and Bhatti Vikramarka was the Deputy Speaker of the House, alongside Deputy Chief Minister Mallu.

“He (Bhatti Vikramarka) is someone I greatly admire. Adi Srinivas, however, is incorrect to accuse me of saying things that I never said. As claimed by Anirudh Reddy, a Jadcherla MLA, this is a 20–30 percent commission government. I can also refer to the Chief Minister as a "Vote-for-Note CM" if I so like. I have merely mentioned the contractor protests and asked the government to address the problem,” KTR said, alluding to accusations of corruption.

KTR also brought up the fact that Congress Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had previously claimed that the Chief Minister had obtained the position by paying Rs 50 crore, which heightened the tense exchange. But BRS MLAs were incensed when his microphone was suddenly turned off.

Speaker Gaddam Prasad said that KTR's comments would be removed from the records as Congress and BRS members sparred. BRS lawmakers sharply objected, calling for Adi Srinivas's words to be expunged from the Assembly records as well.