Internal Rift In BRS Over Order On CBI Probe Into Kaleshwaram Project

The political landscape in Telangana has become a complex web of rivalries and protests, as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) grapples with internal strife and external pressure from the ruling Congress party.

A series of demonstrations has brought to light a multi-layered conflict, with some protests supporting the BRS, against the move to order a CBI probe on the Kaleshwaram issue, while others are specifically aimed against senior party leaders K Kavitha and T Harish Rao.

The primary and largest protest is a two-day, statewide agitation launched by the BRS to condemn the Congress government's decision to hand over the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) probe to the CBI. BRS leaders and cadres have organized "dharnas," "rasta rokos," and bike rallies in districts across the state. They have accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of a "political conspiracy" to tarnish the image of former Chief Minister and BRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao. The party's working president, KT Rama Rao, has vowed to fight the issue "legally and politically."

However, this outward show of solidarity has been overshadowed by a dramatic internal feud. In a stunning turn of events, KCR's daughter and MLC, K Kavitha, was suspended from the party for "anti-party activities." The move came after she publicly accused her cousins, former minister T Harish Rao and former MP J Santosh Kumar, of being responsible for the corruption allegations now facing her father.

Kavitha's remarks have triggered a parallel wave of protests. Her supporters, primarily from her organisation Telangana Jagruthi, have held their own demonstrations in her defense, hitting out at Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar. These protestors have condemned her suspension, calling it an "injustice."

Conversely, there have also been protests and strong shows of support for the BRS party leadership against Kavitha's actions. These BRS workers believe Kavitha's public statements were a direct attack on the party and its senior leaders, particularly Harish Rao, who has been a long-time pillar of the BRS and a close confidante of KCR. So there were incidents of Kavitha's posters and flexis being brought down and even burnt in different districts.

The ruling Congress party and the BJP have been quick to seize on the internal BRS conflict, with leaders calling the entire episode a "family drama" and a clear admission of corruption within the BRS government.