KTR slams Congress-BJP nexus for defaming Kaleshwaram Project

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Saturday launched a blistering attack on what he termed a “Congress-BJP conspiracy” to malign the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, one of Telangana’s most ambitious irrigation projects.

Speaking after a detailed presentation titled “Kaleshwaram Project: Countering False Propaganda with Facts” by senior BRS leader and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao, KTR accused both the ruling Congress in Telangana and the BJP at the Centre of orchestrating a smear campaign aimed at discrediting the project and its achievements under former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).

“The Congress-BJP nexus is distorting facts and stalling critical repairs, all to undermine a transformative project that has changed the fate of farmers in Telangana,” said KTR, defending the integrity and intent behind the Kaleshwaram Project.

KTR praised KCR’s vision in conceptualizing the project to utilize every drop of the Godavari river, transforming arid lands into fertile fields. He noted that complementary projects like Palamuru-Ranga Reddy and Sitarama had also neared 90 percent completion before the BRS left office.

Congress-BJP collusion alleged

The BRS leader alleged that for the past 18 months, the Congress and BJP have been engaged in a sustained misinformation campaign, ignoring pressing state issues like employment and development in favor of political vendettas.

He slammed the Congress for its "silence" on illegal projects being taken up in Andhra Pradesh and questioned why the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) had selectively targeted Kaleshwaram while ignoring major infrastructure failures in Gujarat, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh.

“Why was there no NDSA probe into the Morbi bridge collapse that killed 140 people, or the recurring bridge failures in Bihar? Why the obsession with two damaged pillars out of 100 at Kaleshwaram, while people wait for water?” he asked.

L&T Report discredits NDSA claims

Countering allegations of structural failure, KTR cited engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which built the Medigadda Barrage, as having rejected the NDSA’s findings as unfounded. Notably, L&T also constructed the new Parliament building and the Congress party headquarters in Delhi.

“If Congress distrusts L&T’s capabilities, why did they entrust them with building their own party’s headquarters in Delhi?” he challenged.

Call for Public Accountability

Demanding that the Congress government immediately take up repairs to ensure irrigation continuity, KTR warned that BRS would take the issue to the people, exposing what he called the “Congress-BJP agenda” to sabotage Telangana’s agrarian progress.

“The Congress must answer to the farmers of Telangana. Their deliberate negligence and deception are denying water to those who need it most,” he said.