Hyderabad: BRS Working President KT Rama Rao on Monday demanded Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the Congress party to apologise to the people of Telangana for spreading falsehoods about the Kaleshwaram project while simultaneously using its waters for new schemes.

Addressing a press conference here at Telangana Bhavan, Rama Rao described the Congress government’s actions as ‘shameful and hypocritical’, accusing it of looting public money, colluding with blacklisted contractors, and betraying the farming community. KTR said that the very Congress leaders who once branded Kaleshwaram as ‘Kuleshwaram’ and called it a failed project were today laying foundation stones for projects that depend entirely on its waters. “The Congress government itself has admitted that Kaleshwaram is Telangana’s Kalpavriksha and Kamadhenu. Yet they continue to malign the project in public while enjoying its benefits.

This is duplicity at its worst,” he charged. The BRS leader accused the Congress government of grossly inflating project costs to loot public funds. He pointed out that estimates prepared at Rs 1,100 crores during the BRS regime to bring Godavari water to Hyderabad from Kondapochamma Sagar have now been inflated to Rs 7,390 crores under Revanth’s rule. Similarly, the Musi beautification project, originally estimated at Rs 16,000 crores, has been inflated to a staggering Rs 1.5 lakh crores. “These inflated figures are not about development. They are about commissions and contractor kickbacks. Revanth Reddy is looting in instalments to protect his CM chair,” KTR alleged.

KTR expressed concern that repairs to Medigadda Barrage were being deliberately delayed to favour Banakacharla projects. He reminded that Medigadda withstood floods of 12 lakh cusecs without collapse, yet three piers remain unrepaired. “Out of Rs 4,000 crores spent on Medigadda, only Rs 250 crores was required for repairs. L&T has even offered to take up the work at its own cost. Why then is the government blocking it? Where is the question of public money being wasted? This is a conspiracy against Telangana’s lifeline,” he said.

The BRS Working President also slammed the Congress regime for awarding multi-crore contracts to companies blacklisted by both the Central Government and the HMWSSB. He said the same company responsible for collapses in road and water projects has now been given contracts worth over Rs 7,000 crores. “Why is the Congress government favouring blacklisted firms? This is nothing but a criminal conspiracy to plunder Telangana’s resources,” he declared.