BRS will vanish after Parliament elections: Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy

Minister for Irrigation and former PCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday said the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) lost its political relevance and would fade away from the political landscape of Telangana after the Parliament elections.

Mr. Uttam Kumar said the Congress would comfortably secure 13-14 seats but the BRS would be limited to one or two. The Congress and the BJP would compete for the Telangana seats as the people now believed that the BRS had no relevance; its very existence is in doubt. “It is bound to diminish significantly from the political scene in the next few months.”

Speaking to media persons in Suryapet after attending the Annual Urs celebrations of Jan Pahad Saidulu Dargah, he said the Telangana unit of the Congress, with its 13-14 seats, would play a key role in bringing the Congress back in power at the Centre.

Accusing the previous BRS regime of cheating the public, looting the State coffers and pushing Telangana into a massive debt, Mr. Uttam Kumar said the claims of development under the KCR regime were mere hype. A review of the departments showed shocking details of corruption, particularly in Irrigation, Civil Supplies, Energy and Mission Bhagiratha, which were ensnared in substantial debt.

Highlighting specific instances of financial mismanagement, he pointed out that over ₹94,000 crore was spent on the Kaleshwaram Project, creating an ayacut of fewer than one lakh acres. Similarly, the ₹25,000 crore spent on Palamuru Rangareddy and the ₹7,000 crore spent on Sitharama projects brought nothing.

Mission Bhagiratha was a huge scam, and despite spending over ₹40,000 crore, the previous BRS regime could not provide tap connections or water to all households. Huge sums were borrowed from HUDCO, NABARD and other institutions on the pretext of laying pipelines, creating water resources and other works. In reality, however, little was done.

The Minister also spoke of his association with the Dargah and pledged ₹1 crore towards creating facilities such as accommodation, drinking water supply and roads.