Just as the Revanth Reddy-led Congress administration seems to be settling down in Telangana, a curious case of damaged and missing government files has come up in the state. The blame has fallen on the aides of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav who is one of the CM’s oldest political rivals. What is the case? Earlier this week, barely days after the Congress government took charge in the state, several key files in the animal husbandry department were found either missing or damaged. Yadav’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Kalyan Kumar and four others were booked following a complaint by a security guard at the department. The watchman, in his complaint, told the police that he saw Kumar, computer operators Mohan and Elija, and attendants Venkatesh and Prashanth in the office at the time of the incident. The watchman discovered the damaged files during a routine check. Apart from the missing files, some security cameras in the department were also found to be broken, raising suspicions about the incident. Kumar has alleged he is being implicated in the case because of political reasons and has approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail. What files were these? Sources said the destroyed and “some stolen” files pertained to the procurement of fodder for cattle. A Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity, said, “Imagine the scale of corruption that they were in such a hurry to destroy files which would expose their malpractices.” BRS insiders, however, said the minister had nothing to do with the incident. “If the minister had to hide something, he could have taken the files while vacating the office. He has nothing to do with it (the incident),” said a leader. An old rivalry Both Yadav and Revanth were colleagues in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Though they never had a public fallout, Yadav, who is senior to the CM, was known to be uncomfortable with Revanth’s meteoric rise in the party. Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Yadav was among the TDP leaders who joined the BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi, or TRS). He gradually grew close to K Chandrashekar Rao, or KCR, and is known to be his close aide. Revanth, meanwhile, quit the TDP in 2017 and joined the Congress, where yet again he quickly rose up the ranks and became the state Congress chief. Both leaders have been known to share an uneasy equation since their TDP days. During the recent Assembly election campaign, they engaged in a war of words, with Yadav telling Revanth to control his tongue. The Congress leader also faced backlash from the Golla-Kuruma communities for his comments against Yadav. Political ramifications The case of the missing files can potentially be the Pandora’s Box for the BRS. While the probe in the case is in its initial stages, any alleged irregularities will provide the Congress and the BJP with an I-told-you-so moment ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. For the BRS, which has been accused of corruption during its nine-year rule, it would further dent the party’s prospects in the parliamentary polls.
