The Election Commission of India has sought an explanation by 18 April from former chief minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao for his derogatory comments against the Congress government in Telangana violating the Model Code of Conduct.

On 5 April during his visit to Sircilla, Rao had addressed a press meet and had made certain derogatory remarks against the Congress government, which he felt had mismanaged the water supply for irrigation and drinking water under drought-like situation in the state. He referred to the ministers as incompetent, employing crude language, earning censure from the ECI after the Congress complained against Rao that he had made vulgar, derogatory and objectionable allegations against its leaders. Following the complaint the ECI had sought a report from the chief electoral officer of Telangana.

The district election officer of Rajanna Sircilla had submitted a factual report on what KCR had said in the press. In its letter to KCR, the ECI pointed out he had been warned several times in the past including in 2019 for a speech in Karimnagar as well as in Banswada during 2023 elections. The ECI had also asked political parties and leaders to refrain from making “false statements, utterances without factual basis aimed at misleading the voters.”

The ECI observed that Rao was not only the president of BRS but also the former chief minister of Telangana and it is expected of him to follow the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and guidelines and advisory of the Commission.

“Any unverified and unsubstantiated claim without any proof or derogatory remarks made by you has the propensity to malign the image of the political party or candidates in opposition. In the present case, unverified allegations and derogatory remarks made by you pose a risk of maligning the image of the Opposition party/leader and disturb the level playing field and ongoing election process in Telangana,” said the letter.

KCR is known to employ this kind of crude language in his fiery speeches which resonates with the rural population in the state and current chief minister A Revanth Reddy, who had come under fire from BRS supporters for being disrespectful against Rao, justified it saying it was simply tit for tat.