He likened the Congress to a fox from Vishnusarma’s Panchatantra tales, and accused the government of deception. Using the parable, Rao claimed the Congress had now exposed its “true colours” through a budget that, in his view, failed to benefit any section of society.
Published Mar 21, 2025 | 9:09 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 21, 2025 | 10:13 PM
T Harish Rao (X)
Synopsis: During the Telangana Budget 2025–26 debate, BRS leader T Harish Rao launched a fierce attack on the Congress government, accusing it of failing to honour its pre-election promises and likening it to a deceptive fox from a Panchatantra tale. He criticised the budget as directionless, cited broken guarantees, and condemned the government’s alleged repression of dissent, misplaced priorities, and flawed financial decisions.
Former Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA for Siddipet, T Harish Rao, launched a scatching attack on the Congress-led Telangana government during the state assembly debate on the 2025–26 Budget on Friday, 21 March.
He likened the Congress to a fox from Vishnusarma’s Panchatantra tales, and accused the government of deception.
Rao recounted the story of a fox that falls into a vat of blue dye used by washermen. Mistaken for a new creature by the animals in the forest, the fox declares itself a divine messenger and begins ruling over them – until rain washes off the dye and its true identity is revealed.
Using the parable, Rao claimed the Congress had now exposed its “true colours” through a budget that, in his view, failed to benefit any section of society. His comments prompted uproar from the treasury benches.
In another analogy, Rao compared the Congress to the biggest snake in the game of Snakes and Ladders – bringing down players just as they near the finish line. He claimed the party played a similar role in “derailing” the BRS during the last election.
He further accused the Congress of reneging on its promise to implement six key guarantees it had made to voters.
The government, he alleged, lacked clarity on governance and had instead turned to repression to silence dissent. He condemned the use of police to suppress protests over unmet promises.
The BRS leader also criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for using objectionable language in the Assembly, questing whether it is appropriate for someone of his position.
Rao’s comments followed after Congress members objected to his description of them as suffering from budhi-heenatha (lack of wisdom), saying they were unfit to run the state. Rao questioned why his language was singled out, while the Chief Minister’s remarks went unchallenged.
Legislative Affairs Minister D Sreedhar Babu intervened to clarify that the chief minister’s comments were aimed not at BRS members but at individuals “masquerading” as journalists who, he alleged, had used abusive language against the Chief Minister and his family.
Meanwhile, Rao rejected the Congress government’s explanation that the recent fall in revenue was due to broader recessionary trends.
He argued the government was using the global downturn as a pretext to explain the decline in GST collections, stamp duty, and other income streams. He quipped that the real “recession” was in government policy, not the economy.
He also criticised the government’s focus on events like the Miss World pageant while ignoring pressing public concerns.
Using a Telugu idiom – minga methuku ledu meesalaku sampenga nune (It’s all hat and no cattle) – he accused the government of misplaced priorities.
According to Rao, several flawed decisions had hurt the state’s finances. These included cancelling key projects such as Pharma City and the Airport Metro, instilling fear through actions like the HYDRAA raids, and poor handling of the Musi River Rejuvenation Project.
He also pointed to a list of unfulfilled commitments: the non-payment of Rythu Bandhu subsidies to farmers, incomplete paddy procurement, failure to raise social security pensions as promised, inadequate irrigation, and the suspension of the sheep distribution scheme.
To underline his point, Rao cited a verse by poet Vemana, questioning the purpose of worship without faith, suggesting the Congress’s guarantees were equally hollow.
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Later, speaking informally to the media, Rao said the bond between “Bade Bhai” (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and “Chote Bhai” (Revanth Reddy) had been exposed during the budget session.
Despite the Centre withholding funds from Telangana, he said, the state government had failed register its protest in the budget.
Rao reiterated that the BRS maintains equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress and vowed to challenge both while standing with the people of Telangana.
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of harming Telangana’s interests and criticised Revanth Reddy for lacking the courage to confront the Union government.
He also pointed out that BJP leader A Maheshwar Reddy had spent more time attacking the BRS than the Congress during the budget debate – suggesting collusion between the two parties to target the BRS.
“No matter how much mud they sling at us, the people know the truth,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
