A political storm is brewing in Telangana’s Kamareddy over 268 acres of land, with the Congress alleging that the BJP facilitated the illegal transfer of government land to an RSS-run school, Saraswati Shishu Mandir.
The controversy has pitted senior leaders from both parties against each other — Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s advisor and former minister Md Shabbir Ali on one side, and BJP MLA Katipally Venkat Ramana Reddy along with BJP state president N Ramchander Rao on the other. On Sunday, authorities placed all three under house arrest to prevent tensions from escalating.
What triggered the controversy?
Revenue records show that in 1964, the Kamareddy Colleges Educational Society acquired 268.04 acres from private parties for development purposes. Over the years, 110.04 acres were transferred to government and private entities. The remaining 158 acres stayed with the society, which also ran a cooperative degree college.
In 2015, the society passed a resolution transferring the remaining 158 acres to the government, with a condition that two acres would be leased to the RSS-affiliated Vidya Samithi to run Saraswati Shishu Mandir.
It is this two-acre lease that has become the flashpoint.
Ali has alleged that the land, now government property, was “illegally transferred” to an RSS-linked institution. According to sources close to him, the lease amounts to government land being handed over to the RSS.
How did the BJP and Congress get drawn in?
The lease decision dates back to 2015, when the BJP allegedly supported the move in favour of the RSS-affiliated body.
The political stakes sharpened after the 2023 Assembly elections, when Ramana Reddy — considered a “giantkiller” — won the Kamareddy seat, defeating former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Revanth Reddy. He defeated KCR by 6,741 votes.
For Ali, the issue carries local and political significance. A former MLA from Kamareddy, he lost the 2018 Assembly election to Gampa Govardhan of the BRS. In the current Congress government, he serves as advisor on minority affairs.
The land dispute has now become a tool in the ongoing Congress-BJP rivalry in the constituency.
What led to the recent flare-up?
The immediate trigger appears to be the recent municipal elections, where the Congress and BRS joined hands to defeat the BJP’s candidate for municipal chairman. The unexpected alliance reportedly irked the BJP and the sitting MLA.
Soon after, Ali publicly alleged that Ramana Reddy’s family had encroached upon government degree college land and “gifted” it to the RSS-run school through a lease arrangement.
The MLA hit back, claiming the land was ancestral property pooled by forefathers sympathetic to the RSS and that the transfer was legitimate.
Adding complexity to the dispute, revenue officials say seven court cases related to the land are currently pending.
What has been the fallout?
On February 22, around 100 supporters from both camps gathered in Kamareddy for what was described as a “debate” over the land transaction. Ramana Reddy reportedly challenged Ali to prove the allegations, stating he would resign if found guilty of land grab.
Tensions escalated when a Congress-affiliated former sarpanch raised slogans against the MLA, leading to a scuffle. As police intervened, a group allegedly affiliated with the BJP overturned and set fire to the former sarpanch’s car.
Police registered cases against six individuals — including the former sarpanch and five BJP members — under charges related to destruction of property, intimidation and unlawful assembly. All six were remanded to judicial custody.
The town remains tense, particularly given its proximity to Banswada, where communal tensions had surfaced days earlier after a woman, who was reportedly watching spiritual videos, was allegedly interrupted by a man from another community. Police officials say the situation is under control but under close watch.
What political ramifications does the Kamareddy issue have?
Beyond the two-acre lease, the dispute reflects deeper political fault lines in Kamareddy — a constituency that has witnessed high-profile electoral battles. For the Congress, the issue underscores allegations of ideological expansion by the RSS through state-backed land transfers. For the BJP, it is framed as a politically motivated attack following municipal setbacks.