KCR Faces Kaleshwaram Commission Over Project Irregularities
The people of Telangana have seen how BRS chief and former Chief Minister KCR conducted himself during his ten years in power. Even after stepping down from office, he continued to display the same attitude. He approached the courts challenging the decisions taken by the Congress government that came to power in Telangana a year and a half ago. However, even in the courts, KCR faced setbacks in the matter related to the Electricity Commission. For whatever reasons, KCR avoided appearing before the Electricity Commission, but now he had no choice but to appear before the Kaleshwaram Commission. Taking past experiences into account, this time when the government-formed commission on Kaleshwaram issued notices, KCR only asked for an extension once and did not attempt any other maneuvers. Finally, KCR, who gained recognition as ‘Kaleshwara Rao’ for building the Kaleshwaram Project, appeared before the commission set up to investigate irregularities in the project.
From power purchases, to the construction of power projects, and to the Kaleshwaram project works — KCR and former ministers from BRS have consistently maintained that everything was done systematically and that there were no violations, insisting no one had the authority to question them. However, the criticisms surrounding the Kaleshwaram project are far from few. What the Kaleshwaram Commission ultimately reports to the government and what actions the government will take based on it will take some time to be determined. But the very fact that the Revanth Reddy government managed to bring KCR before the Kaleshwaram Commission must be seen as a victory. KCR, who repeatedly claimed no one had questioned him and that he need not answer to anyone, ended up appearing before the commission, responding to the questions asked, and leaving without uttering a single public word.
Officials also expressed the view that the allegation made by BRS leaders — that the Kaleshwaram Commission is acting with vengeance — doesn’t hold water, especially since KCR was allowed to leave within an hour. If there was any intention to harass, they could have made him sit there from morning till evening and asked various questions — but that clearly didn’t happen. The Revanth Reddy government has already received the Electricity Commission’s report. Within a few days, the Ghosh Commission, set up for Kaleshwaram, is also expected to submit its report. The crucial question now is what actions the Congress, which heavily criticized both issues while in opposition, will take based on these commission reports.
