Hyderabad, April 1 (IANS): The Congress government in Telangana, on Monday, termed the claim of former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao that 200 farmers died by suicide in 100 days of Congress rule, a "complete lie."

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President spoke in frustration due to defeat in recent elections.

Addressing a press conference, the Minister gave a strong counter to the allegations made by the Leader of Opposition, after inspecting withered crops at a few places in Jangaon and Suryapet districts on Sunday.

“A leader who was Chief Minister for 10 years should not utter lies like this. There should be values in public life,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

The Minister alleged that it was KCR’s government that destroyed the irrigation sector, pushed the state into debts and looted the state. He reminded the BRS leader that people gave a sweeping mandate to Congress due to his failures.

Alleging that KCR changed plans and designs of irrigation projects for the sake of commission, the Minister asserted that the former Chief Minister has no right to speak on irrigation projects.

Uttam Kumar Reddy mentioned that poor planning and design led to sinking of Medigadda barrage, a part of Kaleshwaram project. He recalled that after the sinking of piers, then BRS government had stopped water supply from the barrage.

Stating that drought had set in during BRS rule, he said the Congress government was working to deal with the situation in an effective manner.

He disputed KCR’s claim that the Congress government failed to continue uninterrupted supply of electricity to agriculture and other sectors.

The Minister said that at the place where KCR held the press conference, a generator was being used and when there was some technical problem, he lied that there were power outages in the state.

Claiming that there is no power disruption in the state even for a minute, the Minister said that during BRS' rule, outdated technology was used for the Bhadradri power project, making it a burden on people.

On KCR’s demand that the government compensate with Rs 25,000 per acre for withered crops, he alleged that during the last 10 years, KCR did not pay a single Rupee in compensation for the damaged crops. He mentioned that Telangana is the only state in the country to have no crop insurance scheme and demanded that KCR apologise to farmers for this.

The Congress leader remarked that KCR is depressed and frustrated, not just over the defeat in elections but also due to his fears about the party's survival. Stating that no party collapsed like this in a short time, Uttam Kumar Reddy predicted that BRS will not survive after the Parliamentary elections, and that barring KCR and his family members, no one would remain in BRS.

Further, alleging that KCR misused the police department, Uttam Kumar Reddy said it was ironic that KCR urged the police to be neutral.