Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has accused Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao of suddenly going to Delhi on Monday, April 20, to influence Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders at the Centre through Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, and to stop any Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).

During his inspection of Medigadda Barrage, which is part of the Kaleshwaram Project, on Monday, Revanth Reddy held discussions with the technical experts from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), National Geological Research Institute (NGRI), the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), and those concerned with the testing and design of the project.

Addressing the media after the visit, Revanth Reddy alleged that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was holding “Praja Ashirwada Sabha” in Jagtial on the day when the technical experts were visiting the region, only because its leaders were scared of getting exposed.

“They are saying that Harish Rao, Vinod Kumar and a Rajya Sabha member went to Delhi to take legal advice on the order reserved by the Telangana High Court in the case filed by them seeking to quash the PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry’s report. When the order has been reserved and will be read on April 22, there is a need for taking legal advice on the case,” Revanth Reddy asked.

He demanded that Harish Rao spell out the names of those whom he met in Delhi during his visit.

He also questioned why the Centre has taken more than 8 months to respond, after the state government had sought a CBI inquiry into the alleged corruption in the Kaleshwaram Project.

“Union Minister G Kishan Reddy had said that if the state government ordered a CBI inquiry within 48 hours, the culprits would be brought to book. What happened?” Revanth Reddy asked.

“It is only after multiple letters written by us to the Centre, especially the most recent one where we informed them that there was a chance of corrupt officials going scot-free due to the delay, as many were also going to retire soon, that the Centre made a move. On coming to know about it, Harish Rao and Vinod Rao rushed to Delhi to fall at the feet of BJP leaders,” Revanth Reddy alleged.

“How long will you try to hide your corruption by hiding behind the BJP leaders in Delhi?” he asked.

Talking about the Kaleshwaram project, the chief minister said, “The nature identified the problem and exposed the corruption and arrogance of KCR.”

He also said that since the inauguration of the Kaleshwaram Project in 2020, only 160 Thousand Million Cubic Feet (TMC) of water was released, out of which 20 TMC got evaporated and the rest joined the Bay of Bengal.

Revanth Reddy assured that repairs will be taken up for Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, while also constructing the project to draw water from Tummidihetti, and releasing it into the Sripada Yellampalli project.

He also assured that those who perpetrated corruption in the Kaleshwaram Project will be held accountable.