Revanth Reddy Challenges Chandrababu Naidu Over Godavari Water, Blames KCR
Hyderabad:
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is known to be a passionate footballer, and by hosting an all-party meeting on Andhra Pradesh's proposed Polavaram-Banakacherla link project, he has scored goals against both his political rival in the state, K Chandrasekhar Rao, and his counterpart in the neighbouring Telugu state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
Chief Minister Reddy launched a scathing attack on the former KCR government for pledging the river water interests of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh voluntarily.
By playing out multiple videos of former chief minister KCR making offers to Andhra Pradesh to take "excess" waters from Godavari to irrigate the parched Rayalaseema districts, he has painted KCR as the villain, in case Telangana is unable to get its rightful share for the projects that it is building and proposes to build.
"KCR and Harish Rao deserve to be punished for their betrayal of Telangana. They have built projects and barrages where we are unable to store or utilise river waters meant for Telangana," he declared.
He took a dig at former irrigation minister Mr Rao, mocking him for making light of the sinking of a pillar at the Medigadda Barrage.
"Medigadda collapsed and Harish Rao asks, so what if one pillar collapses. You put your heart out, you are six feet tall, let us see what happens to you if your heart is taken out. Will you survive? Medigadda is like the heart of the Kaleshwaram project," Mr Reddy said.
In the all-party meeting attended by among others BRS MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, Chief Minister Reddy shared minutes of apex council meeting held with then Union Minister Uma Bharathi in September, 2016, when KCR was Telangana chief minister and Chandrababu Naidu was Andhra Pradesh chief minister, where KCR had, for the first time, said 3,000 TMC of excess waters is available in the Godavari and that it should be put to good use.
"The very foundation for the idea of supplying Godavari waters to Rayalaseema was laid in that meeting. I will send these minutes to Harish Rao and all MPs," Mr Reddy said.
He also quoted minutes of a meeting held in 2019 when Jagan Mohan Reddy was chief minister, where, like a big brother, he had offered Godavari waters to quench the thirst of a parched Rayalaseema. The chief minister even said that agreeing to just 299 TMC waters from the Krishna river was a grave mistake by KCR.
Mr Reddy said KCR had proposed to convert "Rayalaseema into Ratanala Seema (land of gems)" by letting Godavari water into the basins of the Krishna and Penna, at the expense of Telangana's interests.
Mr Ravichandra objected, saying the chief minister was using the meeting to politically target KCR and even said he would walk out.
Challenging Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, Mr Reddy said Mr Naidu may have good relations with the Centre and PM Modi may listen to what he says, but that could not get him all the due permissions for the project.
"We have constitutional rights and guarantees under the law. We will exercise our rights under various provisions of the law, fight a political and legal battle, and even go to court. We have many options," Mr Reddy said.
Andhra Pradesh has proposed the Polavaram Banakacherla Link Project to link Godavari waters at Polavaram through Bollepalli in Guntur and Banakacherla in Kurnool with the Krishna basin through Penna river. They have claimed that they would transfer 200 TMC of excess water from the Godavari that flows into the sea to provide water to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.
Mr Reddy said if Mr Naidu also believed, like KCR, that 3,000 TMC excess water is available in the Godavari, then Andhra Pradesh should have no problem in giving NOC for full utilisation of 968 TMC already allocated to Telangana and then use whatever excess waters is available.
"Instead, Andhra Pradesh has raised objections to almost every single project planned by Telangana, creating obstacles in their completion," Mr Reddy said.
Taking on the other Telugu state and challenging its leader who was at one point leader to Mr Reddy as well, is expected to win brownie points for Mr Reddy, who will be hoping to be seen as a champion of Telangana, willing to take on a long-time political associate, who his critics call his guru.
The chief minister has proposed an all-party delegation to Delhi to meet Union Minister for water resources to voice serious objections to the Banakacherla project proposed by Andhra Pradesh, pointing out that it would cause an irrevocable loss to the interests of Telangana.
He sought to know why Union Minister from Telangana G Kishan Reddy had met the Union Minister today instead of attending the all-party meeting convened in Hyderabad.
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