Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched a scathing critique of the BJP on Monday, imploring voters to sideline hate politics in the February 11 municipal polls. From a Hyderabad press conference, he painted the BJP as architects of division, exploiting communal tensions for electoral gains.
Central to his attack was the BJP’s recurring demonization of AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi. ‘Obsessed with Owaisi more than Ram, they make him their daily chant,’ Reddy mocked. He challenged their narrative: if Owaisi is so dangerous, why no action from the ruling Center? Dismissing it as evidence of BJP’s electoral desperation, he noted AIMIM’s routine electoral forays elsewhere.
Reddy then dissected local BJP rhetoric, spotlighting state chief Nitin Nabin’s Mahbubnagar speech leaning on PM Modi’s aura. Recalling Modi’s pre-PM era pledge on the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation—a vow unfulfilled—he decried the irrelevance of national leaders in civic contests.
Broadening the indictment, Reddy accused the BJP-led Center of starving Telangana of projects despite over a decade in office. The axed ITIR, the coerced shift of semiconductors to neighboring Andhra, and fiscal discrimination topped his list. With stark figures, he illustrated the disparity: Telangana gets 42 paise back per rupee contributed, lagging behind Kerala (49 paise) and dwarfed by northern giants like Bihar (Rs 6.16 per rupee).
Pointing fingers at silent Union Ministers Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, Reddy framed the elections as a referendum on fairness. His appeal for reasoned voting aims to steer Telangana’s urban future toward unity and growth, away from the shadows of hate.