Telangana BJP President and Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeast Region G. Kishan Reddy, on Tuesday, has questioned if Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has forged an understanding with former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in “not taking action against the corruption of previous government especially with regard to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS)“.
“KLIS is the biggest scam of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Government but the Congress Government seems to be dilly-dallying not knowing what to do next after a powerpoint presentation was made to the group of ministers during their visit to the project site recently. Does Mr. Revanth Reddy have the guts to write to the Centre to order an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into KLIS,” he asked.
Addressing a press conference at the party office in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Mr. Kishan Reddy alleged that the Majlis Party had played a role in “mediating” a pact between the Congress Party and BRS since the “Government can fall anytime due to the miniscule majority it enjoys”. Also, he alleged, “Congress Party and corruption have a strong relationship during its years in power”.
“People of Telangana have voted against KCR because of his corruption and family rule, but not out of any love for the Congress Party or having confidence in its leader Rahul Gandhi. But Mr. Revanth Reddy’s actions are contrary to what he had proclaimed when in opposition, when he had vowed to probe into all corrupt deals of the previous government. A judicial enquiry can help expedite the investigation into KLIS,” he observed.
The Union Minister reiterated that the KLIS design, execution and maintenance lapses were exposed when the Medigadda barrage piers shrunk. This showed that Annaram barrage and other works have no “guarantees” with regard to safety or utility. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) disclosed the lapses in the project and till date information about most of the 19 issues raised has not been submitted by the government, he charged.
“Is this Government serious about identifying and punishing those responsible for the lapses? It is a serious issue. What is the future of the KLIS which was touted as an engineering marvel on which one lakh crore rupees was spent for biggest motors. All this got washed away in the Godavari river with re-engineering becoming reverse engineering,” he added.
