KCR Trying to Blame Congress For His Own Mistakes: Uttam

Hyderabad, April 6: Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy accused BRS Chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao of using foul language solely to draw people’s attention towards himself, thereby attempting to wrongfully blame the Congress party for the mistakes committed by the previous BRS Govt.

Addressing a press conference along with Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Jupally Krishna Rao at Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday, Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned the use of “filthy, foul, and unparliamentary language” by KCR during a press meet at Sircilla against Congress leaders.

“We did not begin our political careers by running fake passport rackets. We entered politics with a clean character and a sense of responsibility, commitment, and sincerity towards people. Like KCR, we did not work as commission brokers for contractors,” he said, accusing KCR of speaking out of political nervousness, depression, and frustration. He said KCR’s slurs against Congress leaders were highly condemnable, labelling him as a contractors’ broker and a joker.

He stated that KCR is responsible for the present drought conditions in Telangana and shamelessly attempting to defame the Congress Government to cover up his mistakes. He mentioned that KCR had decimated the irrigation department and is now trying to shift blame onto others. He emphasized that such tactics would no longer work as people understood his tricks and rejected his arrogance. “They have reduced the BRS from 104 MLAs to 39. About 25 of them are now willing to join the Congress party,” he added.

Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that BRS would cease to exist after the Lok Sabha elections.

He pointed out that the Congress Government was formed in December 2023, when the rainy season had already passed. The Congress Government inherited drought conditions due to mismanagement by the previous BRS regime. Despite adverse conditions, they are striving to provide 24-hour power supply to all sectors and properly regulate drinking water supply. He mentioned that the government was endeavouring to maximize agricultural output from the available water.

He stated that KCR is shamelessly attempting to defame the Congress Government for his mistakes. He even claimed that water was released to Suryapet due to his visit. However, he clarified that water was being released as per the schedule and not due to KCR or anyone’s visit. He highlighted that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, and other ministers and leaders are working as a team to overcome the crisis. “We review the situation every week, and everyone is sincerely working to overcome the challenges,” he added.

He reiterated that KCR was responsible for the present drought conditions. He also shared figures comparing the current availability of water in major reservoirs across Telangana to last year. He explained that due to scanty rainfall and mismanagement by the previous BRS regime, less water is available in reservoirs than last year. However, he assured that the Congress Government is efficiently managing the situation.

He remarked that KCR has no moral right to speak about power supply or the Godavari and Krishna Rivers. He criticized KCR for redesigning the Dr BR Ambedkar Pranahita Chevella Project initiated by the previous Congress regime to irrigate 16 lakh acres of land at the cost of Rs. 38,500 crores by constructing the main barrage at Tummadi Hatti. Initially, after winning the 2014 elections, even KCR demanded national project status for the Pranahita Chevella Project. However, he alleged that KCR was afraid Congress would get full credit for the project, which could have permanently solved the drought problem in the region. Therefore, he accused “Commission Rao” (KCR) of redesigning everything as the Kaleshwaram Project, escalating the cost to over Rs. 1.20 lakh crore. Despite spending over Rs. 94,000 crore, the project could generate a new ayacut of only 90,000 crore. He criticized Kaleshwaram for its failure in all aspects, such as design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

Uttam Kumar Reddy accused KCR of trying to provoke farmers by giving them false information. He blamed KCR for the current drought conditions in Telangana, alleging that due to his friendship with AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, KCR allowed the neighboring state to take more water from the Krishna River, depriving the people of Telangana of their due share in river water. He cited year-on-year figures presented in the Assembly to demonstrate the disparities. He attributed these injustices to the friendship between KCR and Jagan Mohan Reddy.

He criticized KCR for lacking the courage to participate in Assembly discussions and, for now, shamelessly trying to defame Congress leaders.

He also ridiculed KCR’s threat to launch an agitation near the Medigadda barrage. He asserted that KCR should be ashamed of wasting over Rs. 95,000 crore of public money and neglecting the interests of Telangana’s farmers. He noted that KCR himself referred to the Medigadda Barrage as the heart of the Kaleshwaram project and accused him of downplaying the collapse of its pillars by calling it a minor incident.

He mentioned that the pillars of the Medigadda Barrage collapsed on October 21, 2023, during KCR’s tenure as Chief Minister. He highlighted that the Congress Government was formed on December 7, 2023. During this period, KCR remained silent about the damage, but just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, he is trying to gain political attention through new dramas. He predicted that people would reject such stunts, and the BRS would cease to exist after the Lok Sabha elections. He questioned why KCR did not address the collapse of the pillars when he was the CM. He alleged that thousands of crores of public money were wasted by KCR in the name of the Kaleshwaram project, burdening future generations of Telangana with high-interest loans.

Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Jupalli Krishna Rao criticized KCR for targeting the Congress Government, emphasizing that the Congress came to power only four months ago, while BRS was in power for ten years. They accused KCR of betraying the people by not fulfilling the promises made in the 2014 and 2018 elections. Consequently, they stated that BRS was rejected by the people in the last Assembly elections and predicted that BRS would not win a single seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. (Hydnow)

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