YEARENDER: Controversies Shaped Telangana's 2024

Hyderabad, Dec 31 (NationPress) The year 2024 in Telangana was marred by a series of controversies, ranging from phone-tapping allegations to the demolition of actor Nagarjuna’s convention center. Offensive comments made by a Telangana minister regarding Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s divorce and the arrest of actor Allu Arjun due to a stampede at a theater were among the highlights of the year.

The Congress administration faced challenges in fulfilling its election commitments amidst criticisms from the Opposition regarding its performance. Meanwhile, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) struggled to recover after a dismal showing in the Lok Sabha elections, which saw the departure of ten of its MLAs.

Key events included the Enforcement Directorate's arrest of BRS leader K. Kavitha in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, alongside arrests of multiple police officials over allegations of phone tapping during the BRS governance. Investigations into various alleged scams from the previous administration also made headlines.

Starting 2024, the Congress government, which had only recently taken power, quickly engaged in governance. The opposing BRS and BJP criticized it for not delivering on its six core promises, yet the ruling party attributed the delay to the Model Code of Conduct that had been imposed for the Lok Sabha elections since March.

Following a change in power late last year, the BRS faced further humiliation, failing to secure any Lok Sabha seats. While both the Congress and BJP claimed eight seats each, the AIMIM managed to retain Hyderabad.

The BJP made significant gains, doubling its 2019 tally and finishing as the runner-up in six other constituencies. This marked the party’s best performance in the state, increasing its vote share from 19.5% in 2019 to 35.08%. The Congress increased its vote share from 30.2% in 2019 to 40.10% but only managed to secure eight seats, falling short of expectations.

In the November 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress party obtained 64 out of 119 seats with a vote share of 39.40%. In contrast, the BRS faced its worst defeat since its formation in 2001, failing to retain any of the nine Lok Sabha seats it had previously held.

The KCR-led BRS, which had enjoyed a decade-long governance, saw its vote share collapse from 37.35% to 16.68%, following the defection of pivotal leaders, including ten MLAs to the Congress.

The year commenced with tragedy for the Opposition as it lost young MLA G. Lasya Nanditha in a fatal road accident.

During the bye-elections held in May alongside the Lok Sabha polls, the BRS lost a significant seat to the Congress.

After losing power, former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has remained absent from the Assembly. Despite frequent challenges posed by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the Leader of Opposition has not returned to the House.

Aside from the Lok Sabha election campaign, KCR was seldom visible, allowing his son K.T. Rama Rao and nephew T. Harish Rao to take the lead.

A major setback for KCR occurred in March when his daughter, K. Kavitha, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case. Following her judicial custody, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought court permission for her arrest as well.

After over five months in Tihar Jail, Kavitha was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

As the year wound down, KCR's family faced further scrutiny when the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) initiated a case against K.T. Rama Rao for alleged misconduct during the Formula-E car race held in Hyderabad when the BRS was still in power.

Governor Jishnu Dev Varma authorized K.T. Rama Rao's prosecution, leading the ACB to file a First Information Report (FIR) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, naming him as the primary accused.

The allegations pertain to improper payments exceeding Rs.54.88 crore to UK-based Formula-E Operations Limited (FEO) and others, in blatant violation of established procedures.

Denying any wrongdoing, KTR asserted that the Formula-E race was orchestrated to position Telangana as a hub for Electric Vehicles.

Following the ACB's FIR, the ED promptly filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

With Kavitha and K.T. Rama Rao in the spotlight, KCR and his nephew, former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao, are also under investigation by the state government.

Their involvement in alleged irregularities concerning the Kaleshwaram project may be examined by the Justice Ghose Commission, which is nearing the completion of its investigation.

The Commission is anticipated to summon them for questioning about allegations surrounding cost overruns and inadequate maintenance of the three barrages that were damaged due to insufficient operational protocols.

Shortly after taking office, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy mandated two judicial inquiries - one into the purported irregularities in the execution of Kaleshwaram and another into the Bhadradri and Yadadri thermal power projects, as well as the power purchase agreement with the Chhattisgarh government.

The Commission of Inquiry led by former Supreme Court judge M.B. Lokur, which investigated the thermal power plants and the power purchase agreement, submitted its findings in October.

The report has not yet been publicly disclosed but reportedly criticized the previous government and its decision-makers regarding the execution of both power projects and the power purchase agreement.

In March, the state was engulfed by allegations of phone tapping during the former BRS rule.

The arrest of Praneeth Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), revealed that the then SIB chief, T. Prabhakar Rao, allegedly formed a team to surveil rival political leaders, their families, dissidents within the ruling party, businessmen, journalists, and even judges.

In addition to Praneeth Rao, several other officers were arrested, and efforts were made to extradite Prabhakar Rao and the managing director of a private news channel, Sravan Kumar, from the United States.

Former BRS MLAs Jaipal Yadav and Chirumarthi Lingaiah were also interrogated regarding the case. As providing job opportunities by filling vacancies in government sectors was a critical promise, the Revanth Reddy-led government restructured the Telangana State Public Service Commission, which conducted examinations for various vacancies.

In February, a notification was issued for the Mega District Selection Committee (DSC) to fill 11,062 teacher positions. The Congress government claimed it had created over 55,000 government jobs for youth within a single year, a claim disputed by the BRS, which alleged that the government merely issued appointment letters to previously selected candidates from the BRS administration.

After initiating free travel for women on TSRTC buses just two days after taking office, the government sought applications from eligible BPL families to implement its six guarantees, receiving a staggering 1.05 crore applications statewide during ‘Praja Palana.’

The administration fulfilled several more promises, including a farm loan waiver up to Rs.2 lakh, provision of 200 units of free electricity to each household, and a cooking gas cylinder priced at Rs.500 for BPL families.

The government asserted that it had waived farm loans for 25 lakh farmers by directly crediting over Rs 21,000 crore into their accounts, fulfilled the promise of a Rs. 500 bonus per quintal for fine rice exceeding the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and guaranteed free 24/7 electricity for farmers.

The opposition contested these claims. Additionally, the government launched Young India Integrated Residential Schools, Young India Skill University, and Young India Sports University.

Social, economic, education, employment, political, and caste surveys were conducted by the government. The installation of the ‘Telangana Talli’ statue in the State Secretariat this month ignited significant controversy.

This move represented Revanth Reddy's attempt to diminish KCR’s legacy and carve out his own. He altered the state’s abbreviation from ‘TS’ to ‘TG’ and adopted ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’ as the official state song.

However, the redesign of ‘Telangana Talli’ provoked the BRS, which labeled it ‘Congress Talli’ and deemed it an affront to Telangana's identity.

The exclusion of Bathukamma, a floral festival cherished by Telangana women, from Telangana Talli aggravated the BRS, providing them an opportunity to shape a narrative around the state's cultural identity.

The demolitions executed by the newly-established Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to reclaim encroached land around Hyderabad also led to significant uproar.

The demolished properties included the N-Convention Centre owned by renowned actor Nagarjuna in Madhapur, which had been scrutinized for years over allegations of its construction within the Full Tank Level (FTL) area and the buffer zone of the Thammidikunta Lake.

Nagarjuna was accused of encroaching upon 1.12 acres of the FTL area and an additional 2 acres within the buffer zone. He refuted these allegations. Nagarjuna’s family found itself embroiled in another controversy when State Forest Minister Konda Surekha accused KTR of instigating the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

Naga Chaitanya’s father, Nagarjuna, filed a defamation suit against the minister, asserting that her comments tarnished his family’s reputation. KTR also initiated a separate defamation case against the minister.

Tollywood encountered further turmoil when actor Allu Arjun was detained following a woman's death in a stampede at Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of his film ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’.

Allu Arjun, alongside his team and the theater management, faced charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The actor found himself in deeper trouble after holding a press conference in response to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s remarks in the Assembly, blaming him for the incident due to his presence at the theater despite police denial of permission and conducting ‘roadshows’ while entering and exiting.

Allu Arjun denounced the accusations as false, claiming they were aimed at damaging his reputation. As tensions threatened to strain relations between Tollywood and the state government, industry representatives convened with the Chief Minister to mend fences, with the latter clarifying that he had no intent to target anyone.