Hyderabad, Feb 13 (IANS): In the first show of strength since losing power, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is holding a public meeting in Nalgonda to protest over alleged handing over of projects on Krishna river to Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) by the Congress government.
BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will address the public meeting, which will demand the government to protect the state's interests in Krishna and Godavari river waters.
This will be the public meeting of BRS after it lost power to Congress two-and-half months ago.
Led by BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, the party leaders including MPs, MLAs and MLCs left for Nalgonda in special buses from BRS headquarters Telangana Bhavan.
The main opposition party has alleged that the Congress government agreed to hand over management of Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar dams to KRMB to the detriment of the state’s interests.
The BRS has mobilised people from districts that come under Krishna basin including Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Khammam and Nalgonda.
Meanwhile, the Congress party staged an innovative protest in Nalgonda against the BRS. Party workers kept KCR’s photograph on a chair with a pink colour towel to lodge their protest. They recalled KCR’s statement that he will sit on a chair to get irrigation projects completed.
The protesters alleged that KCR betrayed the people of the region by failing to take up projects and protecting the state’s interests.
Telangana Assembly on Monday passed a resolution saying the state shall not hand over control of common projects to KRMB unless the conditions put forth by the state are fulfilled.
The Assembly also requested the Government of India to withdraw the CRPF and hand over the control of the Project to Telangana Government.
The resolution was passed unanimously after Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy made a powerpoint presentation on Krishna projects, followed by a marathon debate which saw ruling Congress and main opposition BRS accusing each other of hurting the state's interests.
The ruling party alleged that it was BRS which had agreed to hand over Krishna projects to the Centre and even allowed Andhra Pradesh to go ahead with illegal projects.
The BRS claimed that the resolution was its first victory. Its leaders said the government came forward to pass the resolution after it announced a protest meeting at Nalgonda.