Protect Telangana’s water rights or face mass movement, KTR tells Congress govt

BRS working president KT Rama Rao warned that the party would launch a major agitation on the scale of the Telangana movement if the State’s legitimate rights over river waters were compromised. He said protecting Telangana’s water rights was the party’s top priority.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, he questioned the State government’s decision to accept the agenda of the upcoming Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy should clarify whether they had accepted the agenda and whether they would attend the meeting, he demanded.

“The meeting’s agenda is completely against Telangana’s interests. If the government has any concern for Telangana, it should boycott the meeting,” Rama Rao said.

He warned that the BRS would not remain a silent spectator if the Centre or any neighbouring State acted against Telangana’s share of river waters. If Telangana faced injustice in



the name of the Centre, a powerful agitation, even bigger than the Telangana movement, would emerge in the State, he cautioned.

Rama Rao alleged that the Congress government was functioning under the influence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and compromising Telangana’s interests over river waters.

Questioning the appointment of Adityanath Das as an adviser, he asked why the government had to depend on an individual whom he described as being opposed to Telangana’s interests when the State had several experienced engineers and experts.

He further criticised the government for allegedly failing to protect Telangana’s irrigation interests while neighbouring States were drawing water from rivers.

The BRS working president charged that despite the Chief Minister’s association with Palamuru, adequate water was not being ensured for farmers in the region. The government was responding only after pressure from the opposition and farmers, he slammed.