NEW DELHI, Sept 2: In a significant political development and an unsparing action, the Telangana MLC K Kavitha, daughter of the former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, was on Tuesday suspended from her party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) by the party president and her father for alleged anti-party activities.
The suspension order was issued against her a day after she publicly blamed senior BRS leader T Harish Rao, her cousin, and another party leader J. Santosh Rao for the federal investigation against KCR, as her father is called.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, BRS leaders T Ravinder Rao and Soma Bharat Kumar, the party general secretaries, said action had been taken against K Kavitha over recent comments seen as “anti-party.” “The attitude of the party MLC K. Kavitha in the recent times and her anti-party activities have been causing damage to the party and the party leadership has taken the matter seriously.” “Therefore, party President K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to suspend K Kavitha with immediate effect.”
Supporters of Ms Kavitha launched a protest shortly after news of her suspension. Ravi Rathod, the Youth Vice President of the Telangana Jagruthi said, “Injustice has been done…” The Telangana Jagruthi is a social and cultural organisation Ms Kavitha started during the agitation to carve out the state from the former undivided Andhra Pradesh.
The two leaders, close relatives of Mr Chandrashekhar Rao, are considered ‘close’ to the party chief. According to sources in the Kavitha’s camp, she’s expected to take a call on whether or not to continue her membership in the Legislative Council. She was a member of the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 19 and an MLC from October 2020 to January 2022. She was re-elected to the Council in 2022 and has a term till January 2028.
Reacting to her suspension from the party, party legislators K.P. Vivekanand and P. Rajeshwar Reddy, who enjoy good equations with party working president K.T. Rama Rao and the party chief KCR respectively, said the party leadership had indicated with its tough decision that there could be nobody bigger than the party.
Speaking separately, they said Ms Kavitha’s actions had been causing confusion among party leaders and workers and had been damaging the party. They pointed out that KCR would repeatedly say that BRS was a family of 60 lakh leaders and cadre and even family members would not be spared if they committed any wrong.
On Monday Ms Kavitha accused Harish Rao – the Irrigation Minister when the BRS was in power, back in 2014 – and ex-Rajya Sabha MP J Santosh Kumar for colluding with the current Chief Minister – the Congress’ A Revanth Reddy – to accumulate assets and tarnish KCR’s image.
“We have to think about why the taint of corruption came to KCR. Some who are close to KCR benefited in many ways by making use of his name,” she had said, adding, “Did Harish Rao, who was Irrigation Minister for five years, not have a major role in this?” She said that was why Mr Rao did not continue as Irrigation Minister in KCR’s second term.
She also claimed Revanth Reddy was ‘protecting’ Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar, suggesting they were ‘hand-in-glove’ to target KCR. Ms Kavitha said her father would emerge ‘as pure as a pearl’ from the CBI inquiry, and added that it hurt her, as his child, to see him face this ordeal. K Kavitha’s allegations came a day after the Congress-led government in Telangana handed an investigation into alleged irregularities concerning the Kaleshwaram project to the CBI.
Significantly, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao – Ms Kavitha’s brother – chose that day to praise Mr Rao, calling his arguments during a discussion on the PC Ghose Commission Report – on investigated irregularities in the design and construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project – a ‘master class.’
Ms Kavitha’s relationship with her father’s party has been on the rocks for some time now. In July KTR appeared to sideline Ms Kavitha in appointing Koppula Eashwar as the party’s in-charge for an influential coal miners’ union. K Kavitha had served as the Honorary President of that union and the decision added fuel, once again, to speculation about the KTR vs Kavitha power struggle in the party.
The ‘BRS vs BRS’ squabble broke out in May too, after K Kavitha took exception to a private letter – which she wrote to her father, KCR – being leaked, allegedly by someone close to her brother. In that letter she had referred to ‘conspiracies’ being hatched within the BRS to target KCR
Asked who might be behind the ‘conspiracy’, she said: “KCR ji is a god. But, there are some devils around him. A lot of damage is being caused because of them. I am KCR’s daughter. If the letter by me internally became public, there should be a debate about the fate of others.”
Ms Kavitha later said she has “no differences” with KTR. Indeed, she claimed a “special relationship” with the former state minister and her brother. In the past she has hinted at a patriarchal mindset in political parties and said her party was no exception. This was in the context of the Women’s Reservation Bill, when she admitted the BRS also did not give adequate tickets to women to fight elections.
(Manas Dasgupta)