Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, November 2 undertook an aerial inspection of the Laxmi barrage, which is a component of the state’s Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, located in Medigadda in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district. He was accompanied by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy, TPCC working president Bhatti Vikramarka, and other leaders.
Restrictions were in place by the police, with barricades sealing off access routes to the barrage. Several Congress activists gathered and raised slogans against Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). Following the inspection, Gandhi participated in a meeting at Amabatpalle village nearby.
Speaking at the meeting, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Rs 1 lakh crore was looted from the people of Telangana through the Kaleshwaram project, which no one has benefited from. He said that he wanted to witness what was happening there. “Kaleshwaram is the ATM of KCR and his family. People of Telangana will have to deposit Rs 31,000 crore every year in this ATM for the maintenance of the project,” he stated, taking a jibe at KCR and the BRS.
Called the Pranahita-Chevella lift irrigation project before Telangana’s formation, it was rechristened Kaleshwaram after the BRS government came to power in 2014. Under KCR as Chief Minister, the project cost went up from the initial Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore by 2018, and has now crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. Though the Congress had earlier questioned the BRS over the cost escalation, this is the first time that it has made it an election issue, with even Rahul Gandhi visiting Kaleshwaram.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Congress will address the alleged financial irregularities associated with the project and provide relief to the people. “Women have been the most severely impacted by this corruption. We are committed to returning this looted money to the people of Telangana through our Mahalaxmi scheme (Rs 2,500 financial assistance to women from poor families), free bus transport, and subsidised cylinder schemes after forming the government. These programmes are projected to benefit women by approximately Rs 4,000 per month,” he said.
“The election battle is between Congress and BRS. AIMIM and BJP are lending their support to the BRS,” Rahul claimed.
On October 21, the Lakshmi barrage suddenly started caving in. Based on a complaint by an Assistant Executive Engineer from the state’s Irrigation Department who suspected sabotage, the Telangana police registered a case. The incident also prompted the Union government to send a six-member expert team from the National Dam Safety Authority, which inspected the site to assess the damage.
Despite political backlash from the opposition, project engineers asserted that there was no immediate threat to the barrage and said they would undertake repairs once the damage had been assessed.
Telangana goes to the polls on November 30 and filing of nominations for candidates will begin from November 3. The results will be declared on December 3. The ruling BRS is looking to return to power for a third time while the main opposition, Congress, is hoping to turn around its fortune after losing twice to KCR. In the previous election in 2018, the grand old party had formed an alliance with the TDP and other organisations but managed to win just 19 seats, while the BRS stormed to power by winning 88 out of the 119 Assembly seats. The TDP, which won 15 seats in 2014, won just two seats, while the BJP got just one seat.