Kavitha launches sharp attack on Harish Rao in Siddipet

Telangana Rakshana Samiti (TRS) chief K. Kavitha. File

Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) president K. Kavitha launched a scathing attack on her cousin and former Minister T. Harish Rao in his home constituency of Siddipet on Friday (November 13, 2026), accusing him of amassing huge wealth through corruption and vowing to drive him out of public life.

Intensifying her political battle against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader, Ms. Kavitha alleged that Mr. Harish Rao was involved in corruption in irrigation projects, land deals, coal transactions and the health sector. She challenged him to respond to the allegations and questioned why the Congress government had failed to initiate action despite several complaints.

Ms. Kavitha was speaking to the media after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for the Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) office in Siddipet.

Taking aim at Mr. Harish Rao’s record as MLA and Minister, she alleged that several basic infrastructure facilities, including substations, household water connections and an Outer Ring Road (ORR), existed even before he became an MLA.

On irrigation, Ms. Kavitha questioned the expenditure on the Kaleshwaram project, alleging that nearly ₹93,000 crore had been spent but only about one lakh acres were receiving water in Siddipet, Gajwel and Dubbak. She said the erstwhile Medak district should have received irrigation water for around 10 lakh acres under the project.

She made particularly serious allegations regarding compensation for land acquired for the reservoirs, claiming that Mr. Harish Rao failed to secure good compensation.

Questioning the quality of construction at Mallanna Sagar, she claimed that the project cost was increased from ₹6,000 crore to ₹9,000 crore and that engineering concerns and recommendations based on seismic studies had been ignored. She alleged that the present talk of blasting was intended to divert attention from leakage concerns at the reservoir bund. Ms. Kavitha said she possessed seismic and National Geophysical Research Institute reports relating to the project.

Ms. Kavitha also accused the former Minister of irregularities in the health sector, alleging that a ₹100-crore scam had taken place when he held the Health portfolio. She claimed that ₹25 crore belonging to the Employees’ Provident Fund of Nizams Institute of Medical Science (NIMS) employees had been transferred to other accounts without the approval of the governing council.

She further alleged irregularities in the Kondapochamma Sagar project, including an increase of ₹1,700 crore in estimates following changes to the original project design.

The TRS president also alleged that the former Minister had used his position to intimidate private college managements and build a business worth ₹2,000 crore in the dairy sector. Referring to the increase in his declared assets, she asked him to explain the difference between his 2003 and 2023 election affidavits.

Challenging the BRS leadership to respond to the allegations, Ms. Kavitha said she had answered every charge levelled against her after being suspended from the party.

The TRS president recalled that she had appealed to the Chief Minister a year ago to fill Mallanna Sagar through the Lower Manair Dam without additional expenditure, arguing that timely action could have helped avert the prevailing water shortage.

Ms. Kavitha demanded that Mr. Revanth Reddy, who is scheduled to visit Siddipet on November 19, explain why no action had been taken on her complaints against Mr. Harish Rao.