Sakshi Telugu daily, promoted by YSR Congress party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is generally considered to be pro-Bharat Rashtra Samithi as its Telangana edition gives big coverage to the BRS news.
The daily regularly attacks the Revanth Reddy government, for the simple reason that it believes he is a protégé of Jagan’s political rival N Chandrababu Naidu, the present chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
However, a big report carried by Sakshi on Tuesday has pushed the BRS into an embarrassing situation.
For the last two days, the daily has been attacking Chandrababu Naidu, based on a statement given by Revanth Reddy that he had forced Naidu to withdraw Rayalaseema lift irrigation project.
It accused Naidu of sacrificing the interests of Andhra for the sake of his disciple Revanth Reddy.
Though the TDP countered that the project was stalled during Jagan’s tenure itself due to administrative failure, Sakshi continued to target Naidu for compromising on Andhra Pradesh interests.
On Tuesday, Sakshi published a banner story in its Andhra Pradesh editions branding Chandrababu Naidu as an “enemy of AP’s water interests,” as he remained silent on the latest attempt by the Revanth Reddy government to construct a series of projects on Krishna River.
According to documents and a Government Order published by Sakshi, the Telangana government has conceived 16 new projects on the Krishna River, with a combined capacity of 372 TMC.
It said the Revanth Reddy government already issued a GO on September 16 authorising preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
While Sakshi’s objective is to attack Naidu for his failure to protect AP interests, it has, in a way, boosted the image of Revanth Reddy, creating an embarrassment to the BRS, at a time when its leader and former minister T Harish Rao has been accusing Revanth Reddy of miserably failing in taking up projects on Krishna River.
While the BRS has been alleging that the Revanth Reddy government has failed to secure approvals and has been unable to move even a “shovel of soil” for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project, Sakshi report gave a big credit to the chief minister for proposing 16 new projects on Krishna River.
Sakshi’s disclosures amount to an indirect certification that the Revanth Reddy government is moving swiftly and strategically on Krishna waters—something the BRS leadership is not able to digest, as Sakshi has nailed the BRS allegations against Revanth Reddy.
Given the perceived proximity between Jagan Mohan Reddy and BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Sakshi’s report is interpreted as a tacit endorsement of Revanth Reddy’s efforts to protect Telangana interests on Krishna projects.
Sources in the Telangana irrigation department point out that Harish Rao, who previously handled the portfolio, continues to receive internal information, raising questions on why he remained silent on the 16-project initiative.
The unfolding developments suggest that while political parties are busy attacking each other, the Revanth Reddy government has quietly set the stage for a major push to correct what it calls the “historic injustice” done to Telangana in Krishna water allocations.