Kurnool, Jan 4: YSR Congress Party Kurnool district president and former MLA SV Mohan Reddy strongly condemned Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for colluding with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and deliberately stalling the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project to serve his personal interests. Addressing the media at the YSRCP district office in Kurnool, Mohan Reddy said the statements made by Revanth Reddy on the floor of the Telangana Assembly had conclusively exposed Chandrababu Naidu’s betrayal of Rayalaseema.
He said that by halting the Lift Irrigation Project, Chandrababu Naidu had mortgaged the future of Rayalaseema’s people and committed an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. Mohan Reddy accused the Chief Minister of remaining silent on Rayalaseema’s interests despite being politically influential at the Centre, and questioned why no special grants were secured for the region. He also directly challenged Rayalaseema ministers and leaders, asking whether holding positions mattered more to them than protecting the basic rights and future of their own people.
Mohan Reddy alleged that Revanth Reddy openly admitted in the Assembly that the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project was stopped after discussions with Chandrababu Naidu, exposing what he called a nexus between the two leaders. He recalled that when former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the project, Chandrababu Naidu attempted to stall it through court cases, but the works were pushed forward to avoid delay. He accused Chandrababu Naidu of sacrificing Rayalaseema’s drinking water and irrigation needs out of fear of his own cases and political pressures, while allowing Telangana to freely draw water from Srisailam, leaving Rayalaseema chronically drought-hit.
He further said that despite massive allocations on paper through the Pothireddypadu Head Regulator, Rayalaseema has been unable to utilize its rightful share of water for decades due to upstream diversions and inaction by successive Chandrababu Naidu governments. Mohan Reddy criticised the coalition government for spending tens of thousands of crores on Amaravati while refusing to invest in critical projects like the Gundrevula reservoir that could ease Rayalaseema’s drought.
Warning TDP leaders from Rayalaseema, Mohan Reddy said the people would not forgive those who remained silent while the region’s future was destroyed. He declared that if the Lift Irrigation works are not immediately resumed, YSRCP will launch a large-scale public movement with farmers and people of Rayalaseema. He reaffirmed that once Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy returns as Chief Minister, the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project will be restarted and completed, with YSRCP standing firmly committed to safeguarding Rayalaseema’s water rights and future.
Naidu betrayed Rayalaseema for personal gain: SV Mohan Reddy
