Hyderabad: Alleging that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who keeps changing parties had no moral right to talk against him, the BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao on Sunday refuted the comments and said he will die in BRS but will never change the party.
Addressing the media at his camp office in Siddipet, Harish Rao said Revanth Reddy, who frequently changed political parties, has no moral right to speak about him. "My entire life and political journey are with KCR and BRS. I have said this a hundred times and I will say it again," he said.
Harish Rao strongly opposed the proposed Rythu Discom and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the proposal and warned that if the government fails to ensure 24-hour free power supply to farmers, BRS will launch a massive movement to protect Telangana's electricity sector and farmers' interests. He criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's approach and raised several concerns regarding the future of Telangana's power sector.
Harish Rao said the Chief Minister's claim that RP-DISCOM is being created to provide 24-hour free electricity to farmers was completely false. "Instead of ensuring free power, RP-DISCOM will become a noose around the neck of Telangana's agriculture sector," he said.
He stated that during the public hearing before the ERC, the Congress party officially conveyed through Farmers' Commission Chairman Kodanda Reddy that three hours of electricity was sufficient for farmers. He reminded that Revanth Reddy had also made similar remarks in the past. "I challenge Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to take an oath that he will seek votes only if he provides 24-hour free electricity to farmers," Harish Rao said.
The BRS leader alleged that farmers in Telangana were currently not receiving more than 13 hours of power supply and said the Congress government was preparing to reduce agricultural power supply to 8-9 hours, similar to Gujarat and Karnataka.
Referring to GO 8 issued by the government, Harish Rao said it clearly mentions allocating a higher share of renewable energy to TGRPDCL. "Solar power starts around 7 AM and ends by 5 PM. How can the government claim to provide 24-hour electricity to farmers by depending on daytime solar power alone, while ignoring thermal and hydel power?" he questioned and also warned that this decision would badly affect major lift irrigation projects such as Kaleshwaram, Devadula, Nettempadu, Kalwakurthy, Bhima, Koil Sagar and Seethamma Sagar.