There is growing discussion within Congress circles that Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is repeatedly scoring “self-goals” with his statements in the Assembly. Leaders within his own party are surprised, wondering whether he is making these remarks knowingly or without fully understanding their implications. On one hand, he accused family members of T. Harish Rao of involvement in irregularities. On the other hand, while addressing alleged land grabbing in Mahabubnagar district, he stated on the Assembly floor that a House Committee would be formed only if Harish Rao, K. T. Rama Rao, and Venkataramana Reddy agree to it. This stance has drawn criticism even from within Congress. A Congress leader remarked that the Chief Minister’s approach appears as if he is seeking permission from those accused of wrongdoing before deciding whether to investigate them.
Party leaders are puzzled, saying that if the Chief Minister has evidence regarding illegal land transfers, he should either form a committee or take action through other legal means—rather than saying action will be taken only if the accused agree. On Sunday in the Assembly, Revanth Reddy launched sharp attacks against BRS leaders. He alleged that KTR and Harish Rao had amassed thousands of crores through the sand mafia. He also accused Harish Rao’s family members of threatening Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy. The Chief Minister further claimed that Harish Rao’s relatives targeted Ponguleti because he refused to transfer land in the names of Harish Rao’s close family members. Revanth Reddy challenged them to agree to a House Committee probe into land grabbing and stated that the committee would be announced immediately if Harish Rao, KTR, and Venkataramana Reddy consented.
He also alleged that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party had an understanding during the Lok Sabha elections, sharing votes and seats. Referring to the Kaleshwaram Project, the Chief Minister said BJP leaders should speak only after ensuring that K. Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao are jailed for alleged corruption in the project. He questioned why the central government has not taken action against KCR and Harish Rao so far, alleging that BJP and BRS are colluding to stall the investigation. Revanth Reddy pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier spoken about large-scale corruption in the Kaleshwaram project and called for an inquiry.
He also said that Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy had claimed that if the case was handed over to the CBI, the accused would be arrested within 48 hours. Trusting those assurances, the case was transferred to the CBI, but no action has been taken so far, the Chief Minister criticized. It may be recalled that on Saturday, after BRS MLAs raised allegations of illegal mining against Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy’s company, Raghava Constructions, the Chief Minister had announced a CB-CID probe into all mining and illegal sand activities during the BRS regime. Now, his statement that a House Committee would be formed on land irregularities only if the accused agree has left even Congress leaders surprised. Another important point is that several Congress MLAs themselves had earlier urged the Chief Minister to constitute a House Committee to investigate land scams that allegedly took place during the BRS rule.