Rahul Gandhi slammed the BRS Government in Telangana dubbing its flagship irrigation project, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, as the biggest betrayal of the people of the state citing a recent damage to the central pier of the barrage at Mettuguda.

CM Rao countered the Congress leader criticising his party which he said has at least a dozen leaders who are aspiring to be chief minister.

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Rahul Gandhi addressed a meeting at Kollapur in Nagarkurnool after Priyanka Gandhi who was supposed to address the rally cancelled her visit due to fever.

Pointing out that Kaleshwaram was the biggest betrayal by the BRS and BJP he said, “BJP-BRS has looted Rs 1 lakh crore. This money belongs to you (the people) and the chief minister stole it from the poor population of Telangana and now the piers of the barrage are crumbling. To repay the debt of Kaleshwaram every family of Telangana will have to pay Rs31,500 till 2040, ” he alleged.

The state government claimed that the contractors of the project would take care of the repairs of the pier at their own expense.

Gandhi said, “We gave land to Dalits, tribals, backward classes and the poor but their land is being taken away by the chief minister through Dharani portal.” The Dharani portal which is the digitised land records has been under attack from both BJP ad Congress.

“The money, the government and the media are all with the chief minister but the truth is with the people of Telangana and Congress party,” claimed Gandhi.

Meanwhile, K Chandrasekhar Rao mocked the Congress party saying it has at least a dozen chief ministerial candidates in Telangana. “Where ever you see there are chief ministerial candidates in Congress. If one wants to become the chief minister the others will pull him down.”

The BRS also tried to cash in on the discontent in the Congress camp. Denied tickets by the Congress some of its leaders turned to dissent and joined the BRS. Veteran Congressman Nagam Janardhan Reddy and former MLA of Jubilee Hills Vishnu Vardhan Reddy joined the BRS today in the presence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao after resigning from the Congress.