The internal strife within the family of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has spilled into the open, as his daughter and BRS MLC K. Kavitha launched a scathing attack on her cousin and former minister T. Harish Rao, accusing him and two others of being responsible for the corruption allegations that have brought disrepute to her father.
Speaking just hours after her return from the United States, Kavitha named Harish Rao, former MP J. Santosh Kumar, and former Rajya Sabha member Megha Krishna Reddy as those who allegedly colluded with large contractors and contributed to the current political fallout facing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and KCR.
Her comments followed Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s announcement that the case involving alleged irregularities in the multi-crore Kaleshwaram irrigation project would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Kavitha openly questioned Harish Rao’s role in the scandal, stating, “Does Harish Rao, who served as irrigation minister for five years, have no major role in this?” She claimed that although KCR was focused on public welfare, “those around him colluded with big contractors for their selfish interests.”
According to her, these internal betrayals within the BRS leadership enabled someone like Revanth Reddy to pursue a CBI probe against the former chief minister. “BRS cadres must think – how did a stain of corruption get attached to KCR? It is because of those around him,” she said, directly naming Harish Rao and Krishna Reddy.
Despite the controversy, Kavitha staunchly defended the Kaleshwaram project, calling it a “great asset” and asserting that people would remember her father for generations for undertaking such a monumental development initiative. “People will remember KCR for 200 years for constructing this project,” she said confidently, expressing hope that he would be given a clean chit by the CBI.
Kavitha also spoke of enduring years of “conspiracies” from within the party, particularly by Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar, claiming she had remained silent despite “personal attacks.” She expressed sorrow over her father being subjected to a CBI inquiry, saying, “As the daughter of KCR, it hurts to see him face this.”
The MLC issued a stern warning to those targeting her on social media. Referring to a leaked internal letter she had written to her father, Kavitha alleged that ever since it was made public by close aides of KCR, she had been subjected to a barrage of personal attacks online. “I will expose them and skin them alive,” she said, aiming at her detractors.
With the internal power struggle now in the public eye and a CBI investigation looming, Kavitha’s explosive statements have intensified the already simmering tensions within the BRS and raised fresh questions about accountability in one of Telangana’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.
(With Inputs from IANS)