Hyderabad: BRS leaders on Tuesday accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy of failing to protect Telangana’s water interests in the Banakacherla water dispute with Andhra Pradesh, alleging that the government prioritised political targeting of K Chandrashekhar Rao over defending the State’s river rights.
At Telangana Bhavan, former Minister Gangula Kamalakar dismissed a presentation made to Congress MLAs as a recycled political script aimed at deflecting attention from the Banakacherla issue while shielding Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Kamalakar said the Congress government took no action until former Minister T Harish Rao raised the matter publicly in January.
He said the Irrigation Minister’s subsequent letter to the Centre carried backdated references and was drafted merely to save face. According to Kamalakar, the Expert Appraisal Committee’s recent rejection of environmental clearance for the Godavari-Banakacherla link project marked a victory for the BRS and reiterated that the party would continue its opposition until the project was scrapped entirely.
MLA K Sanjay criticised the Chief Minister for misrepresenting facts related to the Krishna and Godavari rivers, alleging a lack of understanding on irrigation issues. He said the Chief Minister appeared more interested in attributing blame to Chandrashekhar Rao than in addressing the underlying dispute.
Sanjay also defended the former Chief Minister’s proposal to utilise floodwaters otherwise discharged into the sea, stating that Rao was wrongly targeted.
MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, and former Minister Koppula Eshwar joined in demanding that the government convene an immediate Assembly session dedicated to the Banakacherla project. They insisted that both Harish Rao and Revanth Reddy be allowed to present their positions on the issue in the House.