Kavitha snaps already-bitter ties with BRS, promising to take solo political plunge

K Kavitha resigned as MLC, criticized BRS's ethics, and announced her NGO will enter politics. (Source: FB)

K Kavitha, former leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and daughter of BRS chief and former CM K Chandrashekar Rao, has quit as a Member of the Legislative Council and launched a blistering attack on the party founded by her father.

Kavitha, 47, delivered an emotional farewell address in the Legislative Council, breaking down while announcing her resignation and recounting her long public and political journey, and the circumstances surrounding her suspension from the BRS. She urged the chairman to accept her resignation, which she had submitted last September.

While pledging to return as a strong political force, Kavitha said she was happy to part ways with the party. “BRS lacks ethics and constitutional spirit, and has become corrupt,” she said. She criticised BRS for acting without constitutional spirit — targeting her unfairly, forming an eight-page “joke” constitution, and creating a disciplinary committee overnight to suspend her without notice or explanation.

She said that Telangana Jagruthi, the NGO she founded, will plunge into politics with an eye on the next Assembly polls.

In September, Kavitha decided to quit the BRS but was persuaded to stay. She had left in a huff after she was suspended for “anti-party activities”, following her outburst against her cousins, former minister T Harish Rao and ex-Rajya Sabha MP J Santosh Kumar. At the time, Kavitha said she felt stifled within the party after her name figured in the alleged Delhi excise scam. The former MP from Nizamabad was arrested by the CBI on April 11, 2024, in connection with the case and was granted bail on August 24.

Speaking in the Council on Monday, she said she joined the Telangana movement in 2006, inspired by KCR and Professor Jayashankar, and worked independently through Telangana Jagruthi to mobilise women and youth, safeguard Telangana’s culture, document its history, and fight for the rights of marginalised communities and local employment.

She said that she never intended to enter politics but accepted the Nizamabad Parliamentary ticket offered by BRS after careful consideration. After Telangana’s formation, she continued to work on key post-bifurcation issues and development projects, including completing the long-pending Peddapalli–Nizamabad railway line. Despite her contributions, she said her freedom of expression was curtailed within the party.

She noted that despite KCR’s opposition to outsourcing government employees, the contract system was expanded after state formation. She said that when she questioned these decisions, the party turned hostile and pushed her out through a conspiracy.

As KCR’s daughter, she said she had the courage to question him directly. While she could have accepted the non-implementation of one or two requests, the repeated neglect of serious injustices was unacceptable, she said. She also opposed the decision to change the party’s name from TRS to BRS, stating that it reflected a focus on national expansion while neglecting Telangana.

Kavitha said that despite promises of a transparent Telangana, Andhra-based companies prospered while corruption persisted. She accused the BJP of repeatedly betraying Telangana, and claimed that she was jailed out of political vendetta.