I am with Cong for constituency devpt, says Kadiam Srihari

Hyderabad: StationGhanpur MLA Kadiam Srihari clarified that although he was elected on a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ticket, he is working with the Congress government, which is currently in power in Telangana, solely for the development of his constituency.

Speaking to the media at Jangaon on Sunday, Srihari said that political defections have been happening for many years and questioned how many leaders were actually disqualified for changing sides. He criticised BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) for making what he termed “shameless” remarks against him. Srihari said he had brought Rs1,400 crore in funds for the development of Station Ghanpur.

The MLA said his priority was to ensure irrigation water to every village in the constituency. He alleged that KTR was mired in corruption and was frequently appearing in courts, and remarked that KTR seemed to have aspirations of becoming the Chief Minister. He also criticised people, who according to him, were misusing his image for political purposes.

Describing Station Ghanpur as a “temple” to him, Srihari said all his decisions would be guided only by the interests of constituency development. He pointed out that some Congress workers in certain villages were not functioning effectively but reiterated that he was cooperating with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the Congress government purely to ensure development works.

Srihari further accused KTR of arrogance and irrational statements and strongly condemned his offensive remarks. He said he was two years senior to former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) in age and recalled that while KCR served as Chief Minister for 10 years, he himself had served as a minister for 14 years. He alleged that KCR’s family had looted the people by misusing power and said he continued to stand firmly with the people of Station Ghanpur while addressing their issues. Srihari claimed that his group had won the highest number of Sarpanch positions in the undivided Warangal district and secured 1.25 lakh votes in the constituency, stating that they had emerged stronger than before.

Observing that power is not permanent, he said people would remember leaders, who worked honestly when given an opportunity. He advised Sarpanches to make effective use of the opportunity since Congress is in power in the state and to focus on village development. As promised, he announced that Rs 10 lakh would be provided to every village where the Sarpanch was elected unanimously and urged them to work honestly, ethically, and without corruption. Srihari also claimed that the BRS had lost its presence at the village level.