Kavitha thanks judiciary but blames her family for ‘neglecting her’ in Delhi liquor policy case

Telangana Jagruthi president Kalvakuntla Kavitha said she emerged as a ‘spotless pearl’ in the Delhi liquor policy case, but at the same time pointed fingers at her family for not supporting her enough when she was going through tough times. Ms. Kavitha was among the 23 people who were discharged in the case, by a Delhi court on Friday (February 27).

“The court made it clear that the very arguments in the case were false. We welcome the clean chit given to all those named in the case,” she said.

Reacting to a post on ‘X’ by her brother and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao following the verdict, Ms. Kavitha said that while he congratulated her, he also appeared to suggest that the liquor case was the reason for the defeat of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Assembly [2023] and Parliament [2024] elections.

Telangana Jagruthi president K. Kavitha jubilant after a Delhi court discharged her and 22 others in the Delhi liquor policy case, in Hyderabad on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL

A part of Mr. rama Rao’s post on X reads, “The AAP Govt led by Kejriwal was brought down in the name of the so-called liquor scam, and the political casualty of that narrative was the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in both the Assembly & Parliament elections.”

“Trying to put the burden of the party’s defeat around my neck will not be welcomed by the people,” she said. Ms. Kavitha argued that the BRS lost due to issues such as failure to provide jobs and double-bedroom houses, allotment of tickets to alleged exploiters, and what she described as arrogance in leadership.

Telangana Jagruthi president K. Kavitha jubilant after a Delhi court discharged her and 22 others in the Delhi liquor policy case, in Hyderabad on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL

Ms. Kavitha questioned why no senior leader, including her father and former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao or Mr. Rama Rao, held a press conference when she was jailed. “Was I expected to fight alone? There was not even adequate support from the party’s social media when BJP targeted me with false propaganda,” she said.

She also expressed anguish over the five-and-a-half months she spent away from her children and family. She was released on August 27, 2024 after Supreme Court granted bail. “I faced humiliation, pain and character assassination. No amount of money can compensate for that insult, nor can that time be brought back. An injustice was done to my family,” she said, thanking her husband and in-laws.

Ms. Kavitha urged Mr. Rama Rao to conduct a sincere review of the reasons behind the party’s electoral loss. “Please speak the truth. The people will not appreciate shifting blame onto one individual,” she said, adding the Assembly election campaign did not revolve around her case.

Ms. Kavitha also pointed out that she was arrested after the Assembly elections in Telangana, dismissing attempts to link the case directly to the poll outcome. “If one individual’s alleged mistake can defeat a party, is the party so weak?” she asked.

Stating that the verdict came at a time when she was preparing to launch a new political party in two months, Ms. Kavitha described the timing as a ‘blessing of nature’. She reiterated that legal cases would not deter her from public service.