Telangana Misusing Funds For Ads In Kerala Media: BRS

BRS leader T Harish Rao today alleged that the Congress government in Telangana had misused public funds to finance its electoral campaign in Kerala through costly newspaper advertisements.

Rao said that substantial amounts from the Telangana treasury were spent on full-page advertisements in Malayalam newspapers highlighting the achievements of the Telangana State government and featuring the photographs of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues, ahead of the Kerala elections.

"On one hand the Chief Minister says the treasury is empty and that there are no funds for local initiatives. On the other, Telangana's resources are being lavishly spent in another State for political publicity," he said, and alleged that Telangana had effectively become an ATM for the Congress' electoral campaigns.

"And the ads are not even truthful. They claim the existence of schemes that are not implemented in Telangana, misleading the Kerala public," he alleged.

He lamented that the government was blowing up public money on political promotion outside the State while neglecting the promises made to the people of Telangana.

Rao also said that the government was diverting departmental funds for non-essential purposes. He claimed that funds meant for education and welfare were being spent on publicity campaigns and foreign tours while schools lacked basic facilities and students protesting for jobs faced police action.

He also alleged that the government had neglected the agricultural sector by delaying investment support and failing to fulfill promises related to crop bonuses and loan waivers. Commitments to increase pensions for senior citizens and persons with disabilities had also remained unfulfilled, he said.

"This ineffective administration, which is struggling to pay even retirement benefits to government employees, is misleading voters in other States through deceptive advertisements," he said.

The senior BRS leader said that the alleged spending on advertisements in Kerala reflected a broader pattern of using Telangana's resources to promote the Congress in other States, and demanded that the Congress reimburse the public funds spent on these advertisements and avoid such expenditure in the future.