BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao has slammed Opposition party leaders, including BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao, for their criticism of the State government and suggested that they offer constructive criticism instead.
He dismissed accusations made by Opposition leaders, labelling those as baseless attempts to politicise natural calamities that have led to a drought-like situation in the State.
In a statement issued in Hyderabad on Sunday, Mr. Nageswara Rao asserted the State government’s commitment to the farming community and condemned what he described as the Opposition’s efforts to tarnish the Congress government’s image. He stated that the Opposition was trying to mislead the people by making false allegations about water management regarding release of water to crops, emphasising that demands for water for a second crop (Yasangi) are unreasonable due to the lack of water availability in the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) and projects of the Godavari basin.
Criticising the BRS for its alleged negligence in water management during its tenure, he said the previous government had allowed Andhra Pradesh to draw water from projects in Telangana. Referring to the damage to irrigation projects, he accused the former BRS government of causing heavy losses to the State exchequer by indulging in large-scale corruption in the execution of irrigation projects, including the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). He also held former CM KCR responsible for damage to the Medigadda barrage, part of KLIP.
Regarding flood relief under the BRS rule, the Minister alleged that flood victims had been deprived of assistance, although the then government promised to allocate ₹1,000 crore towards relief. He also accused the BRS government of misappropriating funds related to sheep distribution, paddy purchase, power purchase, and several other schemes and development works. He said that the BRS leaders should be ashamed of themselves for corruption during the 10-year rule.