Harish Rao accuses CM Revanth of violating election code during tour

Former minister and MLA Harish Rao criticized Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for his ongoing district tours, alleging that they violate the election code of conduct. He questioned why the Election Commission has not taken action against the CM despite clear violations.

Harish Rao specifically cited projects like the Kodangal-Narayana-pet lift irrigation scheme and local road developments, asking whether such initiatives, which directly or indirectly influence voters, should be exempt from election code rules. He urged the Election Commission to review the matter immediately and file a case against the CM through the police.

In addition, Harish Rao raised concerns about the state’s power sector. He noted that while the government had presented a white paper in the Assembly committing to reduce thermal power production by 40% by 2026 and focus on renewable energy, the CM recently announced plans to build 2,400 MW of new thermal plants. According to Harish Rao, opting to generate power through these plants instead of sourcing cheaper electricity from NTPC would increase the cost of electricity by ₹3 per unit. This could mean a daily additional expenditure of ₹9 crore for Telangana residents, potentially totaling ₹3,285 crore per year. Over a 25-year agreement for the Ramagundam plant, this could burden the state’s people with ₹82,000 crore.

Harish Rao also accused the current government of overrepresenting officials from Andhra Pradesh in key positions within the electricity department, undermining local Telangana representation. He compared this to former Chief Minister KCR’s tenure, when 95% of local reservations were implemented in jobs.

Former minister Bhatti Vikramarka responded sharply to Harish Rao’s accusations on Twitter, saying, “I am not unfit for politics; you are unfit for politics.” He highlighted that contractors have previously staged protests in front of the Finance Minister’s chamber at the Secretariat and questioned who is truly “unfit” for politics. He also referred to allegations of 20-30% commissions on bill payments, pointing out that in such matters, he could be considered unfit - but that was not the point of his criticism.