Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is known for calling a spade a spade without mincing words when it comes to criticising his political rivals.
Known for his outspoken style, Revanth Reddy has often brought alleged secret political understandings between parties into public discourse.
At a meeting held at Uppal on Sunday, Revanth Reddy targeted Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, alleging that the latter has been indirectly benefiting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
There has already been talk in public and political circles that Kishan Reddy maintains a cordial relationship with the BRS leadership.
Revanth Reddy revived that narrative by questioning the BJP’s political strategy in Telangana and alleging that several actions of the state BJP leadership have indirectly helped the BRS.
The Chief Minister alleged that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly assures support for Telangana’s development, Kishan Reddy has been obstructing several major projects proposed by the Congress government.
He cited issues relating to the Hyderabad Metro Rail expansion, the Musi River rejuvenation project and discussions with Maharashtra over the Tummidihetti project.
According to Revanth Reddy, opposition to these projects stems from concerns that their successful implementation would politically benefit the Congress government.
The Chief Minister’s remarks come at a time when the Telangana BJP is facing internal wrangling.
There has been simmering discontent within the party over Kishan Reddy’s style of functioning, especially from the camp of another Union Minister, Bandi Sanjay, who has been strongly anti-BRS.
In fact, the replacement of Bandi Sanjay with Kishan Reddy a few months before the 2023 Assembly elections in Telangana is believed by some to have helped the BRS.
This is what Revanth Reddy sought to expose, and his comments are widely being viewed as an attempt to highlight what he describes as an understanding between sections of the BJP and the BRS, while simultaneously challenging the BJP’s national leadership to clarify its position on Telangana’s development agenda.