Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, issued a sharp challenge to BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) and Congress leaders, saying his party is ready to place 'the real facts before the people' if the two parties jointly stage a protest in Delhi over farmer welfare in Telangana.

Context

Reddy's post, written in Telugu, states that the central government has been 'generously providing funds' for the welfare of Telangana's farmers. He accused KTR and Congress leaders of having shown no concern for farmer welfare while in power, and ridiculed their reported plan to hold a dharna (protest) in Delhi. Translated from Telugu, he wrote: 'If BRS and Congress parties come together for a dharna, we are ready to put the real truth before the people. Speaking empty words and misleading the public has become a habit for both parties.'

Policy Backdrop

The dispute centres on competing claims over farmer support programmes. The Centre's PM-KISAN scheme, launched in December 2018, provides ₹6,000 per year in direct benefit transfers to eligible farmer families across India, including in Telangana. The BRS government, which ruled Telangana from 2014 to 2023, ran its own Rythu Bandhu investment support scheme, offering ₹5,000 per acre per season, and frequently sought additional central assistance while claiming credit for state-funded welfare delivery.

After the Congress won the Telangana assembly elections in December 2023, the BJP-led Centre has increasingly positioned its direct-benefit programmes against both the outgoing BRS dispensation and the current Congress state government. Credit-claiming over welfare fund releases has been a persistent flashpoint in Telangana's inter-party politics.

Stakeholders and Impact

At the centre of the row are Telangana's farming communities, who benefit from both central and state schemes. The political contest over who has done more for them shapes electoral narratives ahead of future polls. BRS, now in opposition in the state, and Congress, which governs Telangana, appear to be coordinating pressure on the Centre over pending or inadequate fund releases — a charge Reddy's post directly contests.

KTR, a prominent BRS leader and former minister, has been a vocal critic of the BJP-led Centre's approach to Telangana's financial claims. Reddy, as BJP's Telangana state president, occupies a pivotal role in countering both opposition parties simultaneously on this terrain.

What's Next

Any formal dharna by BRS and Congress leaders in Delhi would mark an unusual instance of the two parties — rivals in Telangana — acting in concert against the Centre. Reddy's challenge signals that the BJP is prepared to mount a public counter-narrative, likely centred on PM-KISAN disbursements and central grants to the state. The next scheduled interaction between the Telangana agriculture department and the Union Ministry of Agriculture on pending fund releases will be closely watched by all three parties and by farmer groups in the state.