Telangana's Revenue Minister's family company was caught with 11,200 tonnes of illegally mined stone. The Minister insists the company belongs to "distant relatives" — his wife, son, and brother. Apparently in Indian politics, marriage creates geographic distance.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy of Telangana has achieved a new frontier in political denial. His family's firm, Raghav Constructions, was raided in May 2025 and found with 5,130 metric tonnes of illegally stored stone. A penalty notice of ₹24 lakh was issued in February 2026, which the firm ignored. A follow-up inspection in March 2026 found the stockpile had grown to 11,200 metric tonnes — apparently the firm responded to the fine by doubling down. When confronted in the Assembly, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy dismissed the links by calling the company owners "distant relatives." BRS leader KTR pointed out that the Minister's wife, son, and brother own the company, and the Minister himself served as its chairman from 2020 to 2022. In Telangana politics, being your company's chairman for two years qualifies as a distant relationship.