Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's highhandedness towards journalists continued during a press conference on Monday.

According to News18, when a journalist asked him about the sharing of Krishna water between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Rao "accused him of trying to create a clash between the two states". Rao also said: "It won't happen. I can understand your intention. You can’t face KCR, be careful."

The Krishna water sharing has become a hot-button issue between the two states, with Rao saying his government "will not compromise on the interests of the state". He also ripped into the central government over its economic package, calling it a "blatant fraud": "This is pure cheating. Betrayal. Jugglery of numbers. All gas. The Centre has reduced its own prestige."

But Rao's comments to the journalist are part of a much larger trend of his aggression towards the media. In early April, while discussing misreporting by several news channels in the state, he accused journalists of being "on the bad path" and "cursed" them to get Covid-19 as a form of karma: "Write good things or go to sleep. You should write about great things. Your mind is crooked. I pray you get better. It is your karma...guarantee you will get corona, this is my curse to you."

KCR has a reputation for crushing Telangana's "anti-establishment" media. His party reportedly controls most top TV news channels, and aggressive reporting on misgovernance could put you under police observation — or even land you in prison.

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