Congress MP Rebuts BRS Power Sector Offensive in Telangana

Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday pushed back against BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao's criticism of the State government's management of the power sector, framing the opposition's latest move as an attempt to politicise matters that directly affect farmers.

The Bhuvanagiri MP was responding to Mr. Rama Rao's decision to deploy six BRS teams to inspect power stations across the State. He alleged that the exercise was designed to manufacture a false impression of an electricity crisis rather than to establish facts.

Rejecting the opposition's claims about the sector's performance, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy asserted that free power supply to farmers was a Congress initiative. He further alleged that the previous BRS government had left power distribution companies carrying debts of close to ₹81,000 crore.

The MP also questioned the purchase of 1,000 MW of power from Chhattisgarh, arguing that cheaper options had been available. He alleged irregularities in major projects, including the Bhadradri Thermal Power Plant and the Yadadri project, accusing the earlier government of favouring nomination-based contracts and causing financial losses to the State.

Defending the incumbent administration, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said the effects of an El Niño-induced drought were being felt across the country and accused the BRS of holding the government responsible for weather-related difficulties. He alleged that the opposition was seeking to provoke farmers for political advantage.

He said the government was working to maintain uninterrupted power supply for farmers and consumers, alongside efforts to promote crop diversification. The MP warned that details of alleged irregularities during the BRS tenure would be made public, and accused the previous government of converting a surplus State into a debt-ridden one over its decade in power.