Banakacherla Brouhaha… Harish taunts Revanth, says he is a ‘virus of lies'
Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao launched a salvo at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy. He alleged that there was a secret deal between Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu over the Godavari-Banakacherla project at Pragathi Bhavan. He further alleged that Revanth Reddy betrayed Telangana's water rights to fulfil his political obligations, referring to it as 'guru dakshina'. Harish Rao challenged Revanth Reddy to an open debate in the Assembly, daring him not to cut microphones or turn away cameras.
Harish Rao said people expected responsible statements from a Chief Minister, but Revanth Reddy repeatedly misled them, both as an opposition leader and now as Chief Minister. He stated that the BRS was the party that achieved statehood and prioritised the interests of Telangana, and accused Revanth Reddy and his government of diverting from people's issues towards political mudslinging. He questioned why all MLAs were not invited if the PowerPoint presented by Revanth Reddy was truly official. He further questioned whether the presentation was prepared by Telangana officials or Andhra Pradesh officials, as it appeared to favour Andhra Pradesh's interests.
Rao challenged Revanth Reddy to publicly show letters or any proof of action taken against Chandrababu Naidu's Banakacherla project. He accused Chandrababu Naidu of historically obstructing Kaleshwaram, Palamuru, Dindi, Tummilla, and Bhakta Ramadasu projects, yet noted that these crucial facts were deliberately omitted from Revanth Reddy's presentation. Rao warned Revanth Reddy that his arrogance would ultimately lead to his downfall. 'Technically, Revanth Reddy is a Congress Chief Minister, but his heart still belongs to the TDP. On 6 July 2024, Chandrababu Naidu was secretly invited to Pragathi Bhavan by Revanth Reddy to finalise the Godavari-Banakacherla deal under the guise of bifurcation promises. On 13 September 2024, Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife met Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada, supported Banakacherla, and returned after enjoying local delicacies,' said Rao.
Rao further claimed that on 15 November 2024, Chandrababu Naidu wrote to Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting cooperation for the Andhra Pradesh-Godavari-Banakacherla link. Again, on 31 December 2024, Chandrababu Naidu requested Rs 80,000 crore for the Banakacherla project. Revanth Reddy, he alleged, remained silent and acted unaware while Andhra Pradesh planned these conspiracies. He recalled that the BRS was the first to expose Banakacherla publicly on 24 January 2025, challenging the Congress government. He claimed the word 'Banakacharla' never appeared in the Apex Council agenda, which, according to him, exposed Revanth Reddy's lies. He stated that the Banakacherla DPR clearly mentions diverting Krishna waters too. He offered to debate water issues with Uttam Kumar Reddy openly in the Assembly. Finally, he asked Revanth Reddy to change his ways, stop betraying Telangana's water interests, and warned him to avoid making Telangana's betrayal his permanent legacy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
33 minutes ago
- NDTV
Why Poll Body Is Revising Bihar Voter List. Why Opposition Is Against It
Patna: As Bihar gears up for Assembly polls later this year, the Election Commission's launch of a Special Intensive Revision of the state's voter list has sparked a massive row. While the poll body stresses that this revision is aimed at ensuring transparency and weeding out ineligible voters, Congress and other Opposition parties have alleged that it will exclude genuine voters. The ruling BJP has shot back, accusing the Congress of trying to shield fake voters. What Is Special Intensive Revision Launched on June 24, the Special Intensive Revision aims to add the names of eligible citizens to the voter list and weed out ineligible voters. The last such revision for Bihar was carried out in 2003. The Election Commission has said multiple reasons, such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and the inclusion of names of foreign illegal immigrants, have made this revision necessary. How Will This Be Done For this revision, the Election Commission has said, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct a house-to-house survey to verify voters by reviewing documents. The poll body has said it will strictly follow provisions regarding voter eligibility and grounds for disqualification. The Election Commission has said poll officials have been asked to ensure that genuine electors, particularly old, sick, Persons with Disabilities (PwD), poor and other vulnerable groups are not harassed and facilitated to the extent possible. It has also sought help from political parties to ensure discrepancies are resolved at the preparation stage of the revised voter roll. The Process: Step By Step The poll body has said the Electoral Registration Officer would give the Enumeration Forms and give it to BLOs. The BLOs would distribute these forms to electors through house visits and guide them to fill them up. Forms and documents can also be uploaded online. Once the forms are submitted and checked, a draft electoral roll will be published on the ECI/CEO website and shared with political parties. Voters or political parties can flag objections to the draft list. After a decision on these objections, a final list will be published. Migration A Key Factor A large chunk of Bihar residents migrate to other states for work and visit their hometown only during festivals. Most of them do not hold a voter card in their place of work and have retained their voting rights at their home constituency. This is the most vulnerable group as far as the current revision is concerned. The Representation of the People Act says "a person shall not be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling house therein". In that case, many of these migrants must prove their voting rights in Bihar if they want to continue as Bihar voters, or they must enrol in the voter list at their place of work. As per law, no person is entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency. What Has Chief Election Commissioner Said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has said eligible citizens should register themselves as voters only in constituencies where they are ordinary residents and not the place where they own a house. "As per the Representation of the People Act, you are entitled to vote only in the assembly constituency where you are an ordinary resident. For example, if you ordinarily reside in Delhi but own a house in Patna, your vote should be registered in Delhi, not in Patna." Officials have said many voters have a voter card where they stay now, and also retain their earlier card from before migration. This is a criminal offence. The 2003 Voter List Standard The poll body has said that about 4.96 crore voters -- 60 per cent of the total Bihar electors -- whose names are in the 2003 special intensive revision need not submit any supporting document. The remaining need to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth. If a voter's name is not on the 2003 list, but his parents' names are on the list, he or she needs to submit only documents proving their place/date of birth. Two things we have objected to as preliminary issues: 1. The requirement that only the head or chairperson or president of the political parties could attend. 2. The rather pedantic insistence on two persons per party has no legal basis or sanction, which is most unfortunate.… — Congress (@INCIndia) July 2, 2025 Why Is Opposition Protesting Main Opposition Congress has said the voter list revision carries the risk of "willful exclusion" of voters using state machinery. A group of Congress leaders has said the poll body wants to discard the current electoral rolls entirely and create a fresh roll for Bihar. "This is a clear and explicit admission by the EC that all is not well with India's electoral rolls. Exactly what the Congress party and the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, have been repeatedly pointing out with evidence from Maharashtra," the group said in a statement. "But the revision is a devious and dubious idea in the disguise of a solution. Lakhs of union and state government officials will now control and dictate who has correct documents and who doesn't, who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar elections etc. This carries a huge risk of willful exclusion of voters using the power of the state machinery," it said. Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly, said this revision months ahead of the Bihar election is a "conspiracy". "The last time the routine process of revision of voter list was done was 2003... it has not happened since. And when it happened in 2003, it took about two years to complete," he said. "Now elections are to be held in November. Two months are left before the notification process begins. That means the Election Commission has to make a new list... of 8 crore people... in just 25 days. And that too when 73 per cent of the state is affected by floods!" the RJD leader told NDTV in an interview. A delegation of INDIA bloc leaders from 11 parties met top Election Commission officials yesterday to register their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision, calling it the "worst attack on the basic structure of the Constitution." BJP's Counter The ruling BJP has said that the exercise is being conducted to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. "When the same ECI conducts elections in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, and Congress wins there, they raise no questions. However, this same party raises questions about the electoral process in Maharashtra and Haryana," party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, criticising the Congress. BJP's Bihar unit chief, Dilip Jaiswal, said it is the Election Commission's responsibility to ensure elections are conducted with complete transparency. "If any political party opposes this, it is wrong. Fake voting can be prevented by the revision of the voter list. Voters who have died will be identified. This process will also make it clear whether the voter is actually in Bihar or voting somewhere else. This is a very necessary step for transparency," he said. BJP leader and Bihar minister Nitin Nabin has questioned Congress's intent behind opposing the exercise. "If genuine voters are being verified and fake voters are being removed, is Congress sitting here to commit fraud? I want to ask the Opposition members who are opposing this, are you trying to gain power through fake votes?"
Mint
37 minutes ago
- Mint
Bihar Election 2025: AAP to contest solo; Arvind Kejriwal says BJP sent Congress to defeat us
Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday the party will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election alone, without the support of the Congress or the INDIA bloc allies. 'INDIA bloc was only for Lok Sabha polls. There's no alliance with the Congress now. If there was an alliance then why did Congress contest in Visavadar bypolls. They came to defeat us. The BJP sent Congress to defeat us and cut the votes,' Kejriwal said. In the recently-held bypolls, AAP candidate Gopal Italia won from Visavadar seat, Junagadh district in Gujarat. Italia, former party state president, won by a margin of 17,581 votes against BJP's Kirit Patel, with Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya in third place. The AAP and the Congress had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha Election in an alliance. However, at state-level, the two parties have refrained from contesting the polls together. The AAP and the Congress had contested the Delhi and Haryana Assembly elections independently. The Bihar Assembly Election are likley to take place in October-November this year. The NDA, which consists of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will be once again looking forward to returning to power. In contrast, the INDIA Bloc will be giving competition to the incumbent Nitish Kumar government. In a significant political development in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls, former Union Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has merged his political outfit, Aap Sabki Awaz (ASA), with the Jan Suraaj Party, led by Prashant Kishor. Meanwhile, former BJP MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh has been elected as the national president of the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party. Besides, the Election Commission also announced Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar which aims to verify the eligibility of voters and ensure accurate electoral rolls ahead of the assembly elections expected to be held later this year. The opposition parties raised alarm over the exercise, claiming that it will be used to disenfranchise voters. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the poll body will "destroy" the country's democracy. Ramesh, who is also Congress' General Secretary in charge of Communications, drew a parallel between the demonetisation in 2016 and SIR by the Election Commission, stating that the PM's 'notebandi' destroyed our economy and the ECI's 'VOTE-Bandi', as reflected in the SIR, will destroy our democracy. The Bihar assembly elections are scheduled to take place at the end of this year, with the SIR exercise notified on June 24.
Hans India
43 minutes ago
- Hans India
Is it compulsory to sell Biryani, chicken during Kanwar Yatra: Naqvi slams Oppn over name display row
New Delhi: As preparations are underway for the annual Kanwar Yatra that will begin on July 11, a war of words has broken out over the temporary closure of meat shops along the yatra route and the mandatory display of the owner's name at food joints in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi. In UP, the Meerut district administration has mandated that all food establishments along the Kanwar Yatra route must display a QR code that allows pilgrims to scan and access detailed information about the food joint's ownership and compliance status as well as a list of food items and their prices. The Opposition has accused BJP-ruled states of religious appeasement and questioned the constitutional validity of such directives. In a sharp rebuttal, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit out at the Opposition, accusing them of politicising religious festivals for communal gains. Speaking to IANS on Thursday in New Delhi, Naqvi said, "Is it compulsory to sell Biryani or chicken during the Kanwar Yatra? Some people will say that it is their constitutional right to sell Biryani but one must think of religious sentiments of other people as well." Naqvi urged all communities to maintain the sanctity and purity of such religious occasions and warned against injecting communal venom into matters of faith. 'It is our collective responsibility to ensure that social harmony is not disturbed. Unfortunately, some people want to add a communal flavour to every issue,' he said, without naming any political party. The issue has sparked debate, with Opposition leaders stating that selective enforcement of rules during Hindu festivals is unconstitutional and divisive. However, BJP leaders claim that respecting religious sentiments during limited periods is a matter of cultural sensitivity, not discrimination. Naqvi also took a dig at Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi doubting the Maharashtra election results and the electoral roll revision in Bihar, accusing him of undermining democratic institutions. "Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party has failed to digest the fact that they're being repeatedly thrown out of power via democratic elections. And, that is why they keep on raising questions on the credibility of the Election Commission and even doubt poll results, which is an insult to democracy," he said. He accused the Congress of suffering from a "power entitlement syndrome," saying the party believes that being in power is its birthright. 'This tantrum-driven politics is not only undemocratic but also dangerous for the country's democratic ethos,' Naqvi added. As the Kanwar Yatra nears and political temperatures rise, the debate underscores the growing intersection of religion and politics in India's public discourse.
