Hyderabad: Tensions within the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) grew on Thursday. MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha accused some party leaders of trying to merge BRS with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while she was jailed in a Delhi liquor case. She criticized these leaders, including her brother KT Rama Rao, for not protesting when the Justice PC Ghose Commission served notices on BRS chief and former chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, her father.
During a media interaction, Kavitha, who also leads Telangana Jagruti, revealed that she opposed the merger proposal while in jail. She stated, “I was ready to stay in jail for over a year but opposed merging with BJP.”
Kavitha expressed disappointment with the party’s lack of protest when notices were issued to the party leader. She contrasted this with the uproar when her brother KTR received notices in the Formula E car race case. Kavitha criticized the party’s silence over the modification of the Telangana Thalli statue, highlighting that Telangana Jagruti protested instead. She felt hurt by the lack of response to false news about her, asking if the party could be run solely by tweets.
She condemned the negative campaigns by “paid and YouTube batches” targeting her and the KCR family. Kavitha questioned why BRS leaders did not act upon discovering Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's covert operatives within the party. Declaring herself a fighter, she insisted that KCR is the sole leader of BRS and urged those leaking her letters to direct their courage towards BJP.
Without directly naming KTR, she criticized party celebrations in the USA while the party faced challenges at home. KTR is currently on a tour of the USA and UK, planning to attend Telangana Formation Day events in the USA on June 2.
Kavitha mentioned writing numerous letters to her father, KCR, and questioned why this was problematic. She suggested attempts were being made to create a rift between her and her father, noting the potential benefits to others if they were divided.
The BRS MLC alleged that internal party elements deliberately caused her defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She claimed some leaders conspired with Congress and BJP against her, with even KCR acknowledging a lack of MLA support during her election.
Kavitha clarified she has no plans to join Congress, describing it as a sinking ship. She remarked, “If Congress were strong, BJP wouldn’t be as powerful as it is now.”
