Everyone is aware of the significant role played by Telangana journalists during the Telangana statehood agitation from 2001 to 2014.
They played a crucial part in sustaining the Telangana movement and sentiment until the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
They also played a vital role in strengthening the TRS since its formation in 2001 and in bringing the TRS government to power for two terms in the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections. Their efforts were instrumental in making KCR the Chief Minister of Telangana twice.
The emotional bond between T-journalists and KCR was such that they did not allow anyone to criticize KCR or the TRS during the statehood agitation and throughout the years of TRS governance.
However, it is worth noting that KCR has now removed the word "Telangana" from his party by changing its name from TRS to BRS, indicating his intention to expand into national politics.
Interestingly, these same T-journalists have now taken a vow to oust KCR from power in the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled for December 2023.
The reason behind this shift is KCR's failure to provide house sites in Hyderabad to journalists, even after a Supreme Court judgment in August of last year directing the Telangana government to allocate house sites to journalists.
Although the previous Congress government, led by Chief Minister Y S Rajashekar Reddy, allocated 70 acres of land to the Journalists' Housing Society (JNJMACHS) in Hyderabad in 2008, the allotments to journalists could not be made due to legal challenges.
Some individuals approached the High Court and Supreme Court against the allotment of land to journalists, and the case remained unresolved in the courts for nearly 14 years.
Nearly 1,000 journalists paid over Rs 12 crore to the state government in Undivided Andhra Pradesh, but they are yet to receive house sites.
After the formation of Telangana state and KCR assuming office as Chief Minister in 2014, the Telangana government allocated 32 acres in Nizampet to the society in 2016, with a condition that individual allotments should not be made, as per the interim directions of the Supreme Court.
In August of last year, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice N V Ramana, ordered the state government to hand over the remaining 38 acres in Petbasheerabad to the society, allow the society to develop layouts, and allocate house sites to journalists.
However, even after nine months, the KCR government has failed to comply with the Supreme Court's directions.
Furthermore, CM KCR and his minister KTR have not granted appointments to T-journalists, who wish to meet them and submit a representation seeking the allocation of lands as per the Supreme Court's orders.
This has angered T-journalists, who have vowed to remove KCR from power in the upcoming Assembly polls. They plan to utilize social media platforms for a negative campaign against KCR and BRS.
Additionally, they have decided to launch numerous YouTube channels to expose the wrongdoings of the KCR and BRS government over the past nine years, highlighting how KCR, his family members, and their associates have allegedly misappropriated thousands of acres of land in Hyderabad, its outskirts, and all the districts, while failing to fulfill the Supreme Court's orders.
It should be noted that these journalists had purchased lands at market rates and paid Rs 12 crore to the state government back in 2012.
