'BRS Extorted Crores Of Money, Grabbed Land': Telangana CM Revanth Reddy On Phone-Tapping Row

Last Updated:February 09, 2026, 07:08 IST

Revanth Reddy accused the BRS govt of using illegal phone-tapping to blackmail businessmen and political rivals, claiming Rs 1,500 crore was collected through unethical practices.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday launched a fresh political offensive against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), accusing the previous regime of using illegal phone-tapping to blackmail businessmen, intimidate rivals and amass hundreds of crores of rupees through what he described as unethical practices.

Speaking at public meetings in Mulugu and later at Chelpur in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district ahead of the February 11 municipal elections, Reddy repeatedly referred to the BRS as the “Blackmail Rajakeeya Samiti", alleging that surveillance during the earlier government had become a tool for political and financial gain.

“BRS stands for ‘Blackmail Rajakeeya Samiti’. Phone tapping incidents in the KCR government are enough to prove how the BRS leadership blackmailed others for money and grabbed lands," he said.

“Rs 1,500 crore was deposited into the BRS party account through unethical practices. The BRS leaders committed unpardonable sins and are now facing consequences," Reddy said.

The Chief Minister alleged that the scope of the alleged surveillance was vast.

“They engaged in telephone tapping and did not spare opposition leaders, high court judges, or even journalists."

“They eavesdropped on private conversations between husbands and wives, listened in on film stars, and even blackmailed businessmen. Is there anything more atrocious on earth? Is there a greater sinner than them?" Reddy claimed.

He also cited allegations by BJP MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who has said his phone was tapped, and asserted that land buyers were threatened while crores of rupees were allegedly collected through electoral bonds.

BRS, BJP ‘TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN’: CM

Reddy broadened his criticism to accuse the BRS and the BJP of acting in tandem to weaken the Congress in Telangana.

He alleged that the regional party had earlier facilitated the BJP’s victory in eight Lok Sabha seats in 2024 to evade scrutiny in the phone-tapping case and was now attempting to influence the outcome of municipal polls.

“The BJP and BRS are two sides of the same coin. They are directly and indirectly trying to defeat the Congress, and Congress workers should be wary of this," he said.

At another meeting in Nizamabad on February 7, he compared the two parties to “conjoined twins, like Veena and Vani", claiming repeated attempts to separate them had failed.

The Chief Minister also attacked the Centre for not ordering a CBI probe into alleged corruption in the Kaleshwaram project and the Formula-E race case, while criticising enforcement action against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

He further objected to what he called “false propaganda" by the BRS on district reorganisation, clarifying that the state government was not considering abolishing any district or creating a new one, and said any such proposal would be debated in the Assembly.

Appealing to voters, Reddy said the state government had sanctioned Rs 17,442 crore for municipalities and corporations, urging people to back the Congress in the upcoming elections.

SIT EARLIER QUIZZED KCR IN PHONE-TAPPING CASE

On February 1, former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was questioned for nearly five hours by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) at his Nandi Nagar residence in Hyderabad in connection with the alleged phone-tapping case linked to the previous BRS regime.

Heavy police deployment and barricades were put in place around his residence, while BRS cadres staged demonstrations across Telangana, alleging “political harassment" by the Congress government.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka responded by saying the government would not indulge in vindictive politics and that providing democratic governance was its core objective.

The case relates to allegations of widespread unauthorised and illegal surveillance involving politicians, businessmen, journalists and members of the judiciary.

The SIT has already questioned several senior BRS leaders, including KCR’s son and party working president KT Rama Rao, his cousins Harish Rao and J Santosh Kumar, as well as former intelligence chief T Prabhakar Rao, named as the prime accused.

Since March 2024, Hyderabad Police have arrested four officials, including a suspended DSP of the Special Intelligence Bureau, for allegedly erasing electronic data and participating in illegal surveillance.

They were later granted bail, and investigators have filed a chargesheet against some of the accused as the probe continues.

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