Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) on Wednesday, 1 July issued a direct challenge to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for an open public debate on what he described as the Congress government's administrative failures, the agrarian crisis, and the overall governance of the state. Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, KTR said he was ready to participate in such a debate anywhere in Telangana, at any time.

The Debate Challenge

KTR raised the stakes significantly, declaring that if he failed to expose the Congress government's failures with facts and evidence, he would resign on the spot and permanently retire from politics. The challenge comes amid escalating political tensions between the ruling Congress and the principal opposition BRS over the state's financial health and governance record.

Revanth Reddy's 'Bankrupt State' Remarks Under Fire

KTR sharply condemned Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's recent description of Telangana as a 'bankrupt state', arguing that if the state faces financial distress, it is solely due to what he called corruption and mismanagement by the Chief Minister, his family members, ministers, and Congress leaders. He alleged that no leader who genuinely cares for his state would publicly declare it bankrupt, and accused Reddy of repeatedly denigrating Telangana — comparing the state at various points to 'an AIDS patient' and 'a cancer patient', according to KTR's account of the CM's remarks.

KTR also questioned Revanth Reddy's 72 reported trips to New Delhi over 30 months, asking whom the Chief Minister was meeting despite publicly claiming that Telangana receives no respect in the capital. He asserted that if Reddy were genuinely committed to the state, he should remain in Telangana for the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term and focus on governance.

Competing Claims on State Debt

One of the sharpest exchanges centred on Telangana's debt figures. KTR cited a Parliament response — reportedly given in reply to a question raised by BJP MP Raghunandan Rao — in which the Union Government placed Telangana's outstanding debt at approximately ₹2.7 lakh crore. He alleged that Revanth Reddy has contradicted this by variously citing figures of ₹6 lakh crore, ₹7 lakh crore, and ₹8 lakh crore, accusing the Chief Minister of deliberately misrepresenting state finances to project a narrative of bankruptcy.

BRS's Record vs Congress Governance

Countering the Congress narrative, KTR asserted that under the leadership of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), Telangana had emerged as one of India's most prosperous states. He claimed that agricultural production, farmers' incomes, and irrigation coverage had more than doubled during the BRS tenure, and that KCR had brought over a crore acres under cultivation. KTR alleged that the BRS government achieved this growth trajectory with minimal support from the Union Government.

Allegations of Misplaced Priorities

KTR questioned the Congress government's spending priorities, alleging that there was no money for farmers, students, women, retired employees, or government workers, yet the Chief Minister was reportedly willing to allocate ₹1,000 crore to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. He also criticised the construction of what he described as a ₹200-crore official residence while the government simultaneously pleaded financial constraint, and raised questions about alleged midnight religious rituals conducted at the premises. He further highlighted what he called the Chief Minister's contradictory positions — alternately declaring the state bankrupt and promising to make every citizen a millionaire, and oscillating between full paddy procurement pledges and Centre-directed limits.

With the debate challenge now public, the ball is squarely in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's court — and his response, or silence, will shape the next phase of Telangana's political narrative.