Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday offered to resign and quit politics if the Congress proved its charge that the agreement he had entered into with his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis for construction of a barrage at Tummidihatti violated the accord that the previous Congress government had made with that State.
“I will not go home but drive straight to Raj Bhavan to tender my resignation to the Governor if Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy can come down here in about an hour with the copy of the agreement between Congress government and Maharashtra. I will also take political sanyas, ” Mr Rao told a public meeting at the Begumpet airport on his arrival from Mumbai after signing the agreement with Maharashtra on irrigation projects.
Mr. Rao’s words were in response to the claims of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Uttam Kumar Reddy and Congress Legislature Party leader K. Jana Reddyat the Congress-sponsored dharna at Ranga Reddy district Collectorate on Tuesday that the TRS government had let down Telangana by signing the agreement with Maharashtra for construction of barrage with a height of 148 metres while the Congress government had roped in that State to agree to 152 metres in 2008. Mr. Rao challenged the Congress leaders that he would wait for their arrival with a copy of the agreement.
Warning that the government would book cases against Congress and TDP leaders, he said they might have to go to jail if they could not prove their charges.
He would shortly take up a bus yatra in districts and participate in debates on TV channels for the next three months to expose the parties. Mr. Rao said he was not one to be distracted from his conviction to develop irrigation in the State by the “false propaganda” of the Congress, TDP and BJP. Rather, he would work for supply of water for two crops from all projects by 2018.
He recalled that he had given a call to people to “stone him to death” if he gave up the pursuit of separate Telangana when he launched the statehood agitation.
He was giving a similar call now if he could not ensure irrigation of one crore acres in the State by Krishna and Godavari rivers.
A delegation of TRS MPs would take up with the Centre the demand for allocation of surplus water available in the Godavari to Telangana. The State would demand 700 to 800 TMC ft out of 1,500 TMC ft of surplus water in the river.
The allocation of assured water to the State is 950 TMC ft.
