BRS suspends K Kavitha: Why KCR removed daughter from party; family feud explained

NEW DELHI: Former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao suspended his daughter K Kavitha from the BRS days after she spoke up against her cousin and former minister Harish Rao for tarnishing her father's image. "The party leadership is taking this matter seriously as the recent behaviour and ongoing anti-party activities of party MLC K Kavitha are damaging the BRS party. Party President K. Chandrasekhar Rao has taken a decision to suspend K Kavitha from the party with immediate effect," BRS posted on X. The immediate reason for the expulsion is Kavitha's recent statements against her cousins, T Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar. Kavitha said they have a tacit understanding with chief minister Revanth Reddy to defame her father as the Revanth Reddy government decided to order a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project, which was built during the BRS regime."We (BRS cadre) have to think why the taint of corruption came to KCR. Some who are close to KCR have benefited in many ways by making use of his name. KCR's name is getting defamed today because of their misdeeds. How can the party move ahead if the same persons are encouraged," Kavitha said. "Did Harish Rao, who was irrigation minister for five years, not have a major role in this? That's why KCR sidelined him (Harish Rao) in the second term (in power). Two, three persons are responsible for the taint on KCR in the whole episode of Kaleshwaram, While Harish Rao is one, former Rajya Sabha member (Santosh Kumar) is another," she said.But the rift goes a long way as Kavitha was being cornered in the party and her actions were held responsible for this. Weeks before, Kavitha was removed as honorary president of the Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham. Kavitha said it was a political conspiracy as the internal crisis was deepening. Kavitha has been openly speaking out against her party and raised questions over the handling of internal matters.According to reports, this was the first year that Kavitha skipped the Raksha Bandhan celebration. When she was asked before the occasion if she would tie a rakhi to KTR, her only brother, she said she would. But later, Kavitah disclosed that she was told that KTR was not in Bengaluru and not in Hyderabad.As Kavitha started the second innings of her political career, after taking a break as she got bail last year, she became vocal -- against her own party. In May, she wrote a six-page letter to father, and said KCR, of late, was lacking force. Kavitha criticised KCR's speech on the occasion of the party's silver jubilee and pointed out that the former chief minister omitted several key issues and his oratory was missing. Kavitha was arrested by the ED in March 2024 in the liquor scam case. Kavitha was part of the alleged South cartel in the scam, as the ED alleged that Kavitha conspired with Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to influence the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy for 2021–22. In return, she is accused of arranging ₹100 crore in kickbacks for them.In August 2024, Kavitha was granted bail.Daughter of KCR, sister of KT Rama Rao, K Kavitha was born in Karimnagar and studied in Hyderabad. Kavitha studied B Tech. in Computer Science from VNRVJIET and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi. After returning to India, she took her political plunge and was a key figure in the Telangana statehood movement alongside her father. Kavitha was elected the MP from Nizamabad in 2014, becoming the first woman MP of the TRS (now BRS). In 2019, she lost the election but was elected as an MLC from Nizamabad.