Kavitha said KCR was “clean” and termed the controversy as a conspiracy to damage his reputation. She accused former Minister Harish Rao and Rajya Sabha member Santosh Kumar of being the real "anacondas of corruption".
Published Sep 01, 2025 | 7:59 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2025 | 8:03 PM
Kavitha strongly defended her father’s legacy.
Synopsis: Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla on Monday accused her party colleagues T Harish Rao and J Santosh Kumar of masterminding corruption in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and colluding with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to malign former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. While defended her father’s integrity, she termed the allegations against him as a conspiracy, and questioned the silence of the BRS leadership over the controversy.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla has set off a political storm, accusing her own party colleagues, former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and former Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar, of masterminding corruption in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).
She also alleged that they were working with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to tarnish the image of her father, BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Speaking to the media after returning from the United States on Monday, September 1, the Telangana Jagruthi president defended her father’s integrity.
She said KCR was “clean” and termed the controversy as a conspiracy to damage his reputation. Her remarks targeted what she called the “demons” inside BRS as well as Revanth Reddy’s political agenda.
Kavitha has increasingly become estranged from the BRS senior leadership in recent months, and her bringing her previously cultural organisation, Telangana Jagruthi, into political affairs has been seen as a threat to break away from the BRS.
Her comments follow a raging row in the Assembly over KLIP after the tabling of the Justice PC Ghose commission report on alleged irregularities in its design and execution during the BRS government.
In her attack on Harish Rao, who is KCR’s nephew, and Santosh Kumar, Kavitha alleged that they were the real culprits behind the irregularities in KLIP.
“My father is like a god, with no interest in money. Telangana’s development was his only priority,” she said. “But Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar made money from Kaleshwaram and damaged KCR’s name. They are the anacondas of corruption!”
She accused the two leaders of working “hand in glove” with Revanth Reddy.
“Three engineers were arrested recently for making hundreds of crores in Kaleshwaram. Why didn’t the Anti-Corruption Bureau go beyond them to catch the real masterminds? Harish and Santosh are behind it. Yet they remain in BRS, bringing bad name to my father,” she said.
Kavitha questioned why they were still in the party. “If Harish Rao wasn’t made Irrigation Minister in BRS’s second term, it was because of corruption charges,” she claimed.
She also recalled her earlier warnings about “demons” around KCR. She said that after exposing their misleading advice during her previous US visit, she was targeted on social media operated by these very leaders.
“They attacked me then, and they will do it again now that I have named them. For every post against me, I will hit back with ten! I have KCR’s blood in my veins. I am not a puppet!” she said.
Kavitha strongly defended her father’s legacy. “Kaleshwaram is part of Telangana’s history. Even 200 years from now, people will remember KCR for this project,” she said.
She expressed shock at Revanth Reddy’s remarks in the Assembly on Sunday accusing KCR of “looting” ₹1 lakh crore.
“This is a personal vendetta to damage KCR’s image. At this age, why should he face a CBI inquiry for others’ greed?” she asked.
She reminded people of KCR’s modest financial background. “My father did not even have money for my wedding. This shows he never chased wealth. KCR is like the Himalayas – unshakable!” she said. She added that he would emerge clean from the CBI probe. “The real culprits are those who made money by being around him,” she said.
Kavitha also lashed out at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. “Revanth cannot survive without criticising KCR even for one day. He uses Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar to weaken BRS from within. He is anti-Telangana at heart,” she alleged.
She dismissed Revanth’s moral standing. “Does Revanth even equal the value of my father’s toenail? He is colluding with corrupt BRS leaders to pin their crimes on KCR,” she charged.
She said the announcement by the Chief Minister to refer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was part of a conspiracy to weaken BRS.
“If the CBI investigates my father, what is the point of BRS’ existence? You people want money. I only want my father’s honour,” she declared.
Kavitha also criticised the BRS leadership for staying silent during the Kaleshwaram storm.
“Why did BRS not react when the Ghose commission was set up? Why was no Telangana bandh called when Revanth referred the case to the CBI? The whole state should have risen in protest, but nothing happened,” she alleged.
She predicted that she would now face more attacks on social media. “They will say I am working for Revanth or BJP’s Bandi Sanjay. But I am my own leader. I am fighting only for KCR’s honour. I am not a puppet,” she said firmly.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
