Harish Rao defends Kaleshwaram before PC Ghose panel, attacks Revanth, Congress

LatestPoliticsTelangana
By HNH Web Desk
Kaleshwaram Commission

Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister T Harish Rao on Friday appeared before the Kaleshwaram Commission led by retired Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, submitting documents and reiterating that the massive irrigation project was cleared six times by the state cabinet and thrice in the Assembly.

Rao said he provided the commission with further data on the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages. He claimed the Congress government now holds key project documents and accused it of withholding complete information from the inquiry panel.

He dismissed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s public statements on the project as “falsehoods” and said Congress was attempting to cover up its five-decade record of “lies and betrayal.” Taking direct aim at a recent presentation by Revanth, Rao said, “That was not a PowerPoint, it was a cover point presentation.”

Rao said Congress was falsely portraying a 299 TMC Krishna water pact as permanent, when in fact it dated back to the undivided state under then-CM Kiran Kumar Reddy. “If there had really been a permanent agreement under KCR, why would we have fought for Section 3?” he asked, adding that it was BRS which secured that clause by lobbying the Centre.

The former minister said he personally met Union ministers Uma Bharti and Nitin Gadkari to push Telangana’s water rights. He questioned why Revanth and Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy had themselves signed the 299 TMC letter if they believed it was flawed.

Calling Revanth “clueless” on irrigation policy, Rao said it was painful to watch both the chief minister and irrigation minister display ignorance of river water allocations. He accused Revanth of offering “green signal” to Andhra Pradesh on Krishna water, acting at the behest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Rao also hit out at Congress for claiming legacy credit: “They’re adding pre-Independence projects from the Kakatiya and Nizam periods to their tally.” He said while Congress irrigated 6 lakh acres, BRS expanded it to 48 lakh acres. “In 20 months, has this government built a single tank or check dam?” he asked. “If you haven’t done anything, how did water reach the fields?”

On the Thummadihatti-to-barrage realignment, Rao said Revanth should ask why the Centre approved it instead of blaming BRS. He accused Congress of failing to secure even 160 TMC clearances from Delhi in eight years.

Rao dared the government to a full Assembly debate. “Don’t cut our mic. Don’t flee the House,” he said. He alleged Congress used 6% less available water in its tenure and failed to utilise what was already built.

 

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