When Bharat Rashtra Samithi headed by former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was in power, the party leaders were often talking about making the state “Bangaru Telangana.”
However, the phrase “Bangaru Telangana” has become synonymous with those BRS leaders who made big money and built assets during the KCR regime, while real Telangana activists continued to languish in poverty.
KCR’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha, too, took potshots at her cousins – former minister T Harish Rao and former Rajya Sabha member Joginapally Santosh – for amassing huge wealth in the name of Bangaru Telangana.
“Is it enough if these leaders possess huge quantity of Bangaram (gold) in their house? What about rest of Telangana,” she asked in the past.
On Wednesday, too, Kavitha launched a blistering attack on the BRS leaders, who she described as the “BT batch” (Bangaru Telangana batch).
She alleged that this BT batch had usurped the party and sidelined original Telangana movement activists.
“This BT batch had misused power for personal gain. In contrast, the “UT batch” (Udyama Telangana batch) represented those who fought for statehood, continues to suffer,” she pointed out.
Kavitha accused the BT batch of aligning themselves with whoever holds power, calling them sycophants who “sing praises of those in government.”
She cited former minister Mallareddy as an example, noting that he once projected aggressive postures but now “made his grandson touch the chief minister’s feet,” signalling political desperation.
She alleged large-scale land encroachments by leaders belonging to this faction, stating that whenever such issues are raised, they dismiss the complaints as vindictive.
“The previous government did the same, and those in power now are following the same pattern,” she added.
Referring to her political trajectory, Kavitha said she was once confined to Nizamabad due to political strategies, while in constituencies such as Uppal, Malkajgiri, Qutbullapur, Medchal, and Kukatpally, candidates from the BT batch secured victories.
According to Kavitha, if the UT batch’s principles were followed, Shambipur Raja should have been appointed a minister; instead, someone from the BT batch was rewarded with a cabinet berth.
She vowed to stand by the cause of Telangana activists and families of martyrs.
“Wherever movement activists own land, we will plant the Jagruthi flag. I will continue fighting for them,” she declared.
Accusing the BT batch of migrating en masse to BRS solely for land, power, and control, she said they had encroached on lakes and vast stretches of public land.
“Qutbullapur is now being mockingly called ‘Kabzalapur’ because of the extent of encroachments,” she said.
Indirectly attacking Harish Rao, Kavitha criticised that a BRS MLA who calls himself the “six-foot bullet,” had never developed a hospital in the constituency.
Kavitha also criticised former minister Jagadish Reddy, saying he had failed to understand public issues and that people themselves were not taking him seriously.