The Justice P.C. Ghose Commission, which investigated irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram project, held former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) responsible in its 665-page report. The Commission made it clear that KCR had a direct and indirect role in the failure of the barrages, faulting him for interference at every stage -planning, construction, management, and water storage.
In this backdrop, speculation is rife in political circles that KCR has crafted a special strategy to politically insulate himself from the scandal shaking Telangana, with his daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha playing a key role. Her recent style of functioning, statements, and the sudden developments in BRS over the last two days are being cited as proof.
On September 2, BRS suspended Kavitha. The very next day, she resigned from her MLC post and party’s primary membership. In her media interaction, her remarks were seen as an indirect attempt to shield BRS, KCR, and KTR from the fallout of the Kaleshwaram scam. Analysts point out that Kavitha said, “KCR had no role in the Kaleshwaram irregularities. The blame lies solely with Harish Rao and Santosh Rao.”
This is being interpreted as a calculated move to divert the corruption stain away from KCR. Interestingly, these developments – her suspension, resignation, and subsequent statements – came immediately after the Telangana government announced that it was handing over the Kaleshwaram probe to the CBI.
Political observers believe that once the CBI inquiry begins, the Kaleshwaram issue will remain a haunting challenge for BRS until the next elections. It could even become the single largest election agenda. Hence, to protect the party and shift public focus away from KCR’s involvement, Kavitha appears to have been pushed to the forefront in a strategic move.
Through her statements, she is creating a narrative that “KCR is not guilty in Kaleshwaram,” while squarely blaming Harish Rao and Santosh Rao. This, according to analysts, is a strategy to prevent the BRS cadre from drifting away.
Questions are also being raised as to why KCR found it necessary to suspend his own daughter to enact this strategy. The corruption and irregularities surrounding Kaleshwaram are so evident that even common people understand the scale of the scandal. With a CBI inquiry set to open a Pandora’s box, KCR and BRS face existential political challenges.
Therefore, diverting public attention from his alleged role by putting Kavitha at the frontlines is seen as a desperate damage-control exercise. That is why TPCC Chief Mahesh Kumar Goud remarked that Kavitha is nothing but “KCR’s arrow” released at the right time.