Remarks by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) led to a heated alternate in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP Ok.R. Suresh Reddy demanding an apology and elimination of what he termed ‘false and misleading’ feedback from the House information.
The row erupted after Patil reportedly remarked that just about ₹1 lakh crore spent on the Kaleshwaram challenge had been ‘washed away’ throughout a dialogue on The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation(Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Rajya Sabha, on Thursday.
Objecting strongly, Mr. Suresh Reddy mentioned the assertion amounted to a ‘gross misrepresentation’ of information.
“Kaleshwaram is the lifeline of Telangana. By making baseless allegations, the Minister is misleading Parliament and the people of the country,” he mentioned, demanding an apology from the Minister. Defending the challenge, Mr. Suresh Reddy mentioned Kaleshwaram consists of a number of barrages, reservoirs, 1000’s of kilometres of pipelines, a number of tunnels and energy substations.
Countering Suresh Reddy’s feedback, Union Minister of Coal G. Kishan Reddy blamed the earlier BRS authorities for flaws in the challenge, notably on the Medigadda barrage. “The Medigadda barrage has become non-functional. This is not a political claim but a fact established by expert committees,” Mr. Kishan Reddy mentioned, including that public cash had been misused. He accused the BRS of treating the challenge like an ATM.
Referring to guarantees made through the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Suresh Reddy additionally alleged that Telangana had confronted ‘continuous injustice’ because the enactment of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. He criticised the switch of seven mandal to Andhra Pradesh, stating that the choice was taken with out consulting Telangana and demanded their restoration.
Mr. Suresh Reddy additionally demanded nationwide challenge standing for irrigation schemes in Telangana and drew consideration to the scrapping of the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) challenge for Hyderabad.
Published – April 03, 2026 12:16 am IST
