Hyderabad: BRS leader and former minister Harish Rao criticised the Congress government, accusing it of spending public funds on Kerala election ads during the ongoing polls in the neighbouring state.
Rao alleged that the Telangana government diverted state resources for political publicity outside the state.
He said full-page Kerala election ads featuring Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and deputy chief ministers had appeared in Malayalam newspapers.
According to him, the government spent hundreds of crores on the advertisements for the election campaign.
Rao said the government claimed the state treasury was empty while making such expenditures.
He remarked that the administration was complaining about financial constraints within the state but spending public money in other states.
Kerala election ads spark criticism from Harish Rao
Harish Rao also accused the government of failing to fulfil promises made to women and youth.
He said the Congress government had promised ₹2,500 monthly assistance under the Mahalakshmi scheme. The party also promised gold and scooters for girl students, he noted.
However, Rao alleged that those assurances remained unimplemented. He said the government had disappointed women across the state.
At the same time, he claimed the Congress government was promoting claims in Kerala election ads that one crore women had become millionaires through its policies.
Rao called the claims false and described them as misleading publicity.
He further alleged that the government had failed to provide jobs to unemployed youth.
According to him, students demanding recruitment notifications faced police action late at night.
Kerala election ads row linked to welfare criticism
Rao also criticised the government over welfare programmes for farmers and pension beneficiaries.
He said the Rythu Bandhu scheme had functioned effectively during the tenure of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
However, he alleged that the current government had discontinued the programme and misled farmers through loan waiver announcements.
Rao also said the government had not implemented promises such as ₹500 bonus for paddy farmers and the Rythu Bharosa scheme.
He criticised the administration for failing to increase social pensions to ₹4,000 as promised before elections.
Rao questioned how the government could claim a shortage of funds for welfare programmes while funding Kerala election ads.
He further alleged that Telangana funds were being used for Congress campaigns in other states such as Maharashtra and Delhi.
Rao urged people in other states not to fall into what he described as the Congress party’s “fake publicity” campaign.
He demanded that the Congress party immediately stop such advertisements and reimburse the state government for the money spent.
Pretending to be bankrupt at home while spending lavishly in other states that is the reality of the Congress government in Telangana.
Chief Minister @revanth_anumula repeatedly claims that the state treasury is empty. Yet the same government is spending crores of Telangana… pic.twitter.com/IUEQjYbjgP
— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) March 6, 2026