Kaleshwaram row: KTR denounces Congress attempt to discredit BRS

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao (KTR) has denounced the Congress government's attempt to discredit the BRS on the Kaleshwaram project. KTR on Wednesday reacted to the remarks made by Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on former chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) after visiting Medigedda Lakshmi Barrage.

Congress trying to malign KCR

KTR claimed that the destruction of two to three pillars of Medigedda Lakshmi Barrage was being used as an excuse by the Congress government to malign KCR and the decade rule of the BRS in the state. In order to revive the Kaleshwaram project, he recommended the Congress government to fix the broken pillars.

“The Congress leaders might be angry with KCR for political reasons. However, they should not vent their anger on farmers. Steps should be taken by the government to repair the damaged pillars of the barrage to ensure water supply to farmers before monsoon,” he said and added that Gauravelli, Malakpet reservoir, extension and upgradation of Upper Maniar, Singur, Nizamsagar and SRSP were done only through the Kaleshwaram project.

BRS legislators protest over Revanth remarks on KCR

Condemning the disparaging remarks made by Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on KCR during a debate on vote-on-account budget, the BRS legislators walked out of the sessions and tried to register their protest outside the Assembly hall. At that moment, Telangana Legislative Assembly security stopped BRS MLAs from addressing media at the media point.

The Assembly security halted the BRS MLAs KTR, T Harish Rao, Kadiyam Srihari, Padi Kaushik Reddy, Vemula Prashanth Reddy and others who were headed towards the media point. They were requested to obtain permission from the Speaker before they could address the media at the media point. The BRS MLAs countered that they should have the freedom to speak and that there had never been a clause of that like before.

In a show of defiance, the BRS legislators sat down, refused to get up from their spot, and began yelling slogans critical of the Congress government's attempts to suppress the voice of the opposition. “Is this the "breaking of the chains" that the Congress spoke about? During the 10 years of our government, there was no such regulation, and we gave the opposition unrestricted access to the media, KTR said.

The agitating BRS leaders claimed that the Congress Government was reminding them of the black days of emergency under the control of the infamous "Indiramma Rajyam," as they demonstrated against the restrictions placed on their ability to speak to the media.