Vowing to fight like a tiger for the rights of Telangana till his last breath, former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday exuded confidence that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will come back to power in ‘double speed’.
Addressing his first public meeting after losing power to the Congress recently, the BRS chief declared that he will not allow injustice to be meted out to Telangana.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said the time has come for a decisive fight to get Telangana’s due share in the waters of Krishna River.
The BRS chief was addressing a public meeting organised by the party to protest against alleged handing over of the projects on Krishna River by the Congress government to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).
The BRS leader, who recently underwent hip replacement surgery following a fracture, said he came to the public meeting with a walking stick as the interests of Telangana are dearest to him.
He also made it clear that it is not a political meeting, saying: “This is a meeting for a movement, for a fight. Our rights in Krishna waters are a matter of life and death for us.”
KCR said this meeting is a warning for not just the state government and state leaders, but also the Brijesh Kumar tribunal, Central government, Union Water Resources Minister and those with vested interests who want to snatch away “our water”.
KCR said the issue of Krishna waters is a matter of life and death for the undivided districts of Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy and Hyderabad.
The former CM said that for the last 24 years, he has been going around Telangana to underline the need to protect the state’s due share in the waters of both Krishna and Godavari rivers.
“I fought for Telangana state, achieved it and ruled the state for 10 years. I have not belittled anybody during my rule,” he said, claiming that his government ensured uninterrupted power supply, drinking water tap to every house and a huge jump in agricultural production.
Recalling that the people of Nalgonda suffered a lot due to the fluorosis problem and the successive governments’ failed to solve it, he said it was the BRS government which made Telangana fluorosis-free.
KCR also recalled that at the time of creation of Telangana state, then Congress government at the Centre wanted the states to continue the existing water sharing arrangement for one year and assured to address the issue later.
“Since the Bill for the formation of Telangana state was to be passed in the Parliament, we agreed,” he said.
The BRS chief said after the Narendra Modi government came to power, it did nothing to determine the share of Telangana in Krishna waters though he wrote hundreds of letters.
“We went to the Supreme Court and later the Central government asked us to withdraw the case, promising to constitute a tribunal. They delayed the process of constituting the tribunal and only after a strong fight by the BRS, the tribunal was constituted a few months before the elections,” he said.
The BRS chief said the Congress government should approach the tribunal, present its case effectively and apprise it of the state’s requirements and rights. He, however, remarked that this task can be undertaken by someone with guts and someone who has love for the people and the state.
He also demanded that the government should take an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and urge him to do justice to Telangana.
Slamming the Congress government for agreeing to handover Krishna projects to KRMB within three months after coming to power, he said this was a direct attack on the state’s interests and the very existence of its people.
He claimed that it was only after the BRS announced the ‘Chalo Nalgonda’ programme that the government passed a resolution in the Assembly.
He, however, said even this resolution has not covered some key issues like electricity generation.
KCR also alleged that the Congress uttered lies to come to power, adding that power is not permanent and BRS will come back to power in double speed.
On the visit of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, ministers and legislators to the Medigadda barrage, he asked what have they done by visiting it. He also alleged that the Congress government was trying to defame the BRS.
KCR remarked that the present government has no understanding of the river water problem, adding that this will not end with the passing of a resolution in the Assembly.
The BRS chief reminded that Kaleshwaram is not just Medigadda barrage, but there are three barrages, 15 reservoirs, 19 substations, 21 pump houses, 203 km of tunnels and 1,531 km gravity canal.
“There are 250-300 piers of Medigadda barrage. Two to three piers have sunk. If there are problems, they should be fixed,” KCR said, as he asked if similar problems were not faced in Nagarjuna Sagar, Musi, Kadam and other projects.
Lashing out at the Congress, KCR said they are resorting to cheap politics.
“They are saying they will not allow KCR to roam around in Telangana. What will you do? Will you kill KCR? Can you sustain after killing KCR,” he asked.
The BRS chief also slammed Congress leaders for allegedly threatening to hit the farmers with footwear if they ask for Rythu Bandhu.
“You should remember that footwear of farmers is harder than yours. If you are incompetent to give Rythu Bandhu assistance, you should tell the farmers,” KCR said