KTR and Revanth Reddy clash over Singareni coal block privatisation allegations

HYDERABAD: BRS Working President K Taraka Rama Rao issued a strong rebuttal to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's recent claims regarding the privatisation of Singareni coal blocks and other state issues.

Revanth Reddy had accused KTR and the previous BRS government of neglecting the voices of the people of Telangana over the past decade. He asserted that all Congress leaders and members in Telangana strongly opposed the privatisation or selling off of state assets by both the central government and the previous KCR government. He pointed out that the central government and KCR conducted the first and second tranches of selling off the Singareni blocks to two companies, Aurobindo and Avantika, without any opposition from the BRS. He suggested this silence indicated possible ulterior motives.

He highlighted that Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had actively protested against further privatisation and demanded the revocation of the coal blocks sold to Aurobindo and Avantika, companies he claimed were close to the BRS leadership. He assured that Telangana's people's interests, properties, rights, and future were safe with the Congress party, vowing to fight for every single right of the people.

In response, KTR accused the Telangana Congress and BJP of spreading misinformation and betraying the state's interests. He drew a comparison between the Congress-led government's spread of misinformation and the infamous Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. KTR emphasised that the BRS had always listened to and addressed the six-decade-long aspirations of the people of Telangana, unlike the Congress party, which he accused of ignoring and suppressing these genuine demands, resulting in the deaths of thousands of young people.

KTR alleged that since the Congress assumed power in Telangana, it had been working closely with the BJP to undermine the state's interests, a fact he claimed was evident to every citizen of Telangana. He reiterated BRS's opposition to selling coal blocks, noting that no one from the BRS government had participated in any auctions, unlike the Congress government. KTR pointed out that the BJP government at the Centre had unilaterally auctioned two coal blocks, and due to the BRS's opposition, no mining had occurred in these blocks to date.

He underscored that the BRS government had not allowed mining companies to proceed with operations in the allocated blocks, highlighting the party's commitment to protecting Telangana's resources. He also noted that the same company had received mining rights in Maharashtra when the Congress-Shiv Sena alliance was in power in 2021.

Accusing both national parties of colluding to mortgage Telangana's properties, rights, and resources, KTR criticised Congress for failing to protect the state's riparian rights and for cooperating with the BJP in privatising Singareni Coal Mines. He reminded the public of a joint event where Congress leader Bhatti Vikramarka and BJP leader Kishan Reddy allegedly shared a platform to auction Telangana's coal mines, vowing that the people of Telangana would hold both parties accountable for their betrayal across all sectors.