TRS says AP stealing water, badmouths YSR and Jagan

Hyderabad: The TRS has intensified its attack against neighbouring Andhra Pradesh over the proposed Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS).

Several ministers raised their voices against what they described as ‘stealing of Telangana water by AP’ and even personalised their attacks to the extent of calling Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy a ‘dacoit’ and his father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy a ‘thief’.

Telangana tourism minister V. Srinivas Goud went a step further and blamed Rajasekhar Reddy for the death of popular Congress leader P. Janardhan Reddy who was insulted by the then dispensation for his relentless fight against diversion of Krishna waters into Rayalaseema through the Pothireddypadu project. “YSR was a devil in the form of a human being,” he said.

The TRS revived the attack on RLIS in the past few days and accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy government of carrying out civil works relating to the project. The AP government, on the other hand, informed the National Green Tribunal (NBT) on Friday that no works of RLIS were taken up. The Telangana state government pressed the Centre to send Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) officials to verify the genuineness of AP’s claims.

The RLIS turned a bone of contention between the two states last year when both the government traded charges against each other on constructing illegal projects on Krishna and violating the KRMB directions. The fresh attack on RLIS gains significance against the backdrop of the political atmosphere getting charged in the run up of Huzurabad bypolls.

Energy minister Jagadish Reddy questioned the silence of the BJP and the Congress over illegal projects taken up by AP. “Instead of fighting against the AP government, the opposition is targeting us,” he said.

The minister also accused the BJP-led government at Centre for creating rift between the two Telugu states by not finalising the sharing ratio even seven years after the bifurcation.

Agriculture minister Niranjan Reddy asked the Congress leaders to come out of the mindset of remaining as 'slaves' to Seemandhra rulers even after formation of Telangana state. He alleged that they were slaves to Rajasekhar Reddy in undivided AP and kept mum when he constructed Pothireddypadu project to divert Krishna water and accused the BJP leader D.K. Aruna who was then in the Congress of offering ‘Mangala Harathi’ to Rajasekhar Reddy, when he came to Mahbubnagar district to loot Telangana water.