Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 30 (ANI): The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy launched a political counter-offensive against Telangana's ruling Congress administration, asserting that recent retractions regarding past controversies vindicate the party's leadership, adding that every single one of those allegations is falling flat.
The development follows former minister and Congress MLA Konda Surekha's formal decision to withdraw her earlier personal remarks targeting BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR).
Speaking to the reporter, Vishnuvardhan Reddy claimed that the dramatic turnaround exposes a pattern of politically motivated defamation over the past three years.
"In the last three years, all these false allegations targeting the top leadership of the BRS party by calling them names, humiliating them, trying to target them personally, trying to malign their character. Today, every single one of those allegations is falling flat,” Vishnuvardhan Reddy told ANI.
The BRS spokesperson argued that the reversal goes beyond an individual apology, pointing directly to internal power pressures within the ruling establishment and alleging that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was behind all this.
“We have seen Konda Surekha, ex-minister, making statements against KTR... She has withdrawn her comments and made it explicitly clear that she was forced and under pressure to make such political comments. This goes to show that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was behind all this, wanting to tarnish the image of BRS leaders and also to divert the attention of people from the real issues that are bothering Telangana," BRS spokesperson Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy said.
Earlier this week, former Telangana Minister and Congress MLA Konda Surekha had withdrawn her earlier personal remarks against BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) and expressed regret, triggering fresh speculation about her political future amid reported differences with the Congress leadership.
While her latest statement has drawn attention to the possibility of a rapprochement with the BRS, there is no confirmation that she intends to join the opposition party.
In a clarification posted on her official X handle, Surekha said her earlier remarks were made in the context of the political situation prevailing at the time and as part of her criticism of the opposition.
Acknowledging that some of her comments were baseless and should not have been made, she said she had no intention of hurting KTR or his family members.
“I have absolutely no intention to hurt KTR garu or his family members, or to damage their reputation,” Surekha stated, adding that she regretted any hurt caused by her comments and was withdrawing the remarks.
The clarification assumes significance against the backdrop of Surekha’s removal from the Telangana Cabinet, and her reported differences with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and sections of the Congress leadership.
Having previously been a vocal critic of KTR, her decision to withdraw the remarks has brought renewed attention to the evolving political dynamics in the state.
The controversy dates back to October 2024, when Surekha, then serving as the state’s Forest and Environment Minister, made allegations linking KTR to the divorce of actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya.
She also levelled allegations concerning interference in the personal lives of film personalities, drug use, rave parties and the alleged blackmail of actors. (ANI)
"CM Reddy was behind all this": BRS claims allegations against leadership 'falling flat' after Congress MLA Konda retracts comments
