Hyderabad: Former minister Harish Rao on Monday accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of deliberately betraying Telangana’s water interests by filing a legally weak and non-maintainable petition in the Supreme Court of India over the Polavaram Nallamala Sagar projects.
Harish Rao said the Supreme Court proceedings had exposed what he called Revanth Reddy’s “true intentions” of aiding Andhra Pradesh in completing projects that, according to him, would cause irreversible damage to Telangana’s water rights. He alleged that the Congress government intentionally chose a flawed legal route instead of filing an effective civil suit.
He recalled that in the past, a stay was secured on the Palamuru Rangareddy project through strong legal action, but claimed the present government failed Telangana by opting for an ineligible writ petition. Harish Rao questioned whether the Chief Minister’s legal team and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi were unaware of this basic legal position.
Polavaram Nallamala Sagar case reflects deliberate delay, says Harish Rao
Harish Rao alleged that by withdrawing the writ and announcing plans to file a civil suit, the Telangana government had effectively granted Andhra Pradesh more time to complete the Polavaram Nallamala Sagar works. He warned that hearing arguments from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka could drag on for years.
During this period, he claimed, the Andhra Pradesh government would finish the projects and divert water, permanently harming Telangana’s interests. He described the weak writ petition as a “Sankranti gift” from Revanth Reddy to Chandrababu Naidu.
Listing past decisions, Harish Rao alleged that Revanth Reddy held meetings in Delhi despite claiming the issue was not on the agenda, discussed Banakacharla, signed agreements after initially opposing them, formed committees favouring Andhra Pradesh, and approached the Supreme Court only after tender deadlines had lapsed.
He said the Bharat Rashtra Samithi would not remain silent and would take the issue to the people’s court. Harish Rao asserted that the party would continue its fight to protect Telangana’s water rights and expose what he called the Chief Minister’s historic betrayal.
