Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter and senior BRS leader K Kavitha on Wednesday resigned from the party’s membership and her Legislative Council seat. The decision came just a day after she was suspended on charges of anti-party activities, triggering a fresh crisis in state politics.
Several key events are behind Kavitha’s dramatic move. On Tuesday, the BRS disciplinary team suspended her for her “recent behaviour and anti-party activities”. The suspension comes after the Congress government in Telangana decided to order a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), a project considered to be the flagship project of the KCR government.
The turning point in the matter was the report of a one-member commission headed by Justice P.C. Ghose, which said that KCR’s direct instructions and involvement in the planning and construction of the KLIS barrages were at the root of the irregularities. Although the Telangana High Court has granted interim protection to KCR and his close aide Harish Rao from any action taken on the report.
Explaining the reason for her decision, Kavitha sharply criticized the inner circles of the party. She made serious allegations against her own cousins, minister T. Harish Rao and former MP Joginpally Santosh Kumar, of benefiting from corruption in the Kaleshwaram project. Her move brought long-standing rifts within the party to the fore.
Kavitha’s unease with the BRS became apparent in May, when a letter she wrote to KCR was leaked, in which she complained that the “ghosts surrounding KCR” were isolating her in the party. Her troubles were compounded when she was also removed from the presidency of the Telangana Bogoguni Karmikula Sangham, a powerful coal miners’ union.
On the other hand, other BRS leaders, including Satyavati Rathod, have defended the steps taken by the party. They say that Kavita’s behavior was creating unrest in the party and efforts were made to correct her. Party leaders have praised Harish Rao and KT Rama Rao as KCR’s loyal lieutenants and have dismissed all of Kavita’s allegations as baseless.
Now all eyes are on Kavita’s next move. Political observers are speculating whether she will form a new political party or try her luck elsewhere in the current political mainstream. Her move is being seen as a major rift in the BRS, which is largely centred around KCR’s family, which could have far-reaching implications for the state’s politics.
