Internal tensions in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) deepened on Thursday with MLC K Kavitha alleging that some individuals within the party attempted to merge it with the BJP during her incarceration last year. She claimed she rejected the proposal outright when it was brought to her while she was in jail in Delhi in connection with the liquor policy-linked money laundering case.
Without naming her brother and BRS working president K T Rama Rao directly, Kavitha made a veiled attack, accusing party leaders of trying to hand over the party to the BJP instead of resisting the saffron party’s alleged attempts to “loot Telangana’s resources.”
"There was a proposal to merge BRS with the BJP when I was in prison. I firmly said no. BRS is the Sriram Raksha for the people of Telangana," she told reporters during an informal interaction in Hyderabad. There has been no official response from the party so far.
KCR surrounded by ‘devils’, says Kavitha
Kavitha, daughter of former chief minister and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, also criticised party leaders for not defending her when her name was allegedly tarnished on social media and in vernacular press.
She said she had already conveyed to her father that BRS, which embodies the spirit of Telangana and its formation struggle, should never be merged with a national party. "KCR is like a god who is surrounded by some devils," she remarked.
The MLC also questioned why no protests were organised when the Kaleshwaram irrigation project came under scrutiny and KCR was summoned by the judicial commission led by former Supreme Court judge Justice P C Ghose.
"What are you celebrating abroad?"
Taking a jab at K T Rama Rao, who is currently on a tour of the US and UK, Kavitha asked, “What are you celebrating in the United States? I don’t understand why we are not celebrating anything at the grassroots level?”
In response to her earlier remarks about KCR being surrounded by "devils," Rama Rao had last week said party matters should be discussed internally and not aired publicly.
Says offered to resign when arrested
Kavitha also revealed she had offered to resign from her MLC post after her arrest last year, but KCR advised against it. She further alleged that some party members were responsible for her defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Nizamabad, hinting at long-standing internal sabotage.
The fresh allegations and her sharp criticism come amid growing signs of factionalism within the BRS, which has been out of power since December.
(With inputs from PTI)
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