Thummala to furnish facts to Ghose Commission suo moto
Hyderabad, June 07, 2025: Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has strongly refuted claims made by BJP leader and Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender regarding the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, asserting that the project never received cabinet approval and was implemented solely through administrative sanctions. In a sharp rebuttal, Tummala accused Eatala of providing “false statements” to the Kaleshwaram Commission and misleading the public.
Tummala clarified that the cabinet sub-committee, in which he participated during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime, was not specifically tasked with the Medigadda Barrage or the Kaleshwaram project. Instead, its mandate was to address pending irrigation projects across the state, including Pranahita, Devadula, Kanthalapalli, and Tupakulagudem. “The sub-committee was formed after the sanction of Kaleshwaram and had no role in approving or submitting any report on the Kaleshwaram barrages,” the minister stated, dismissing Eatala’s claims as baseless.
Expressing concern, Tummala hinted at a possible “malafide intent” behind Eatala’s submission to the commission, which alleged that the Medigadda Barrage was approved by the sub-committee of which Tummala was a member. “I smell a threat and suspect something fishy in dragging me into this controversy,” Tummala said, adding that he intends to personally submit the sub-committee’s report to the commission to set the record straight. He demanded that Eatala explain why he was being pulled into the dispute and provide proof that the Kaleshwaram project was ever brought before the cabinet for approval.
“Kaleshwaram never came before the cabinet. It was pushed through administrative permissions alone,” Tummala emphasized, challenging Eatala’s narrative that it was a collective cabinet decision. He expressed disappointment at Eatala’s statements, noting, “I have respect for Eatala, but his claims are saddening and misleading.”
The minister also recalled the BRS regime’s handling of various projects, underscoring that the sub-committee’s focus was on clearing pending works, not specifically endorsing Kaleshwaram. Tummala, a former BRS member who joined the Congress party before the assembly elections, now serves as a key minister in the current government.
In a related development, Eatala had earlier criticized former minister Harish Rao, dubbing him “Abaddala Harish Rao” (Lying Harish Rao), escalating the political war of words. Tummala’s demand for evidence and his strong denial of cabinet involvement highlight the intensifying controversy surrounding the Kaleshwaram project, a flagship initiative of the BRS era now under scrutiny.
