Telangana State Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and former minister and incumbent BRS president KT Rama Rao exchanged barbs over the Congress government’s decision to install a statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi outside the Telangana State Secretariat within 15-20 days.
CM Revanth Reddy said that a statue of Rajiv Gandhi would soon be installed in the Secretariat premises. Besides, a statue of ‘Telangana Talli’, the mother goddess of the state, would be installed in the Secretariat on December 9, he said.
KT Rama Rao threatened to reverse the decision on the Rajiv Gandhi statue and said his party would “clean up the garbage when it returns”.
“Mark my words, Minister Revanth. We will clear the garbage around Dr BR Ambedkar’s Secretariat the same day we return to office,” KTR said in a post on X on August 20.
Mark my words, cheap Minister Revanth
We will clear the garbage around Dr BR Ambedkar’s Secretariat on the same day we return to the office.
I can’t expect a Delhi Ghulam like you to ever understand self-respect and pride of Telangana
Use of swear words in …
— KTR (@KTRBRS) 20 August 2024
“In four years, a BRS government will be formed under KCR. Once that happens, we will remove the statue of Rajiv Gandhi with due respect and shift it to where the Congress wants it and reinstall the statue of Telangana Talli,” KTR said, as reported NDTV.
“Despite loss of power, arrogance remains”
In a sharp reaction, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asked BRS leaders to touch the statue of Rajiv Gandhi. “When we suggest installing the statue of Rajiv Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the country, they say they will remove it. Though they have lost power, their arrogance remains. Our party activists will take the responsibility to smash this arrogance.”
Revanth Reddy condemned KT Rama Rao’s statement and added that “all hell would break loose” if anyone touched the statue of Rajiv Gandhi.
“If anyone touches the statue of Rajiv Gandhi, all hell will break loose. He (KTR) dreams of BRS returning to power,” the chief minister said at an event on August 20. He alleged that KT Rama Rao wanted to install the statue of his father and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao instead. He also called the former chief minister a “drunkard”.
KTR calls Revanth Reddy a ‘Delhi Ghulam’
KTR called the Chief Minister ‘Delhi Ghulam’ and said he could not be expected to understand the self-respect and pride of Telangana.
He further replied that he wished the Prime Minister “a speedy recovery from your mental illness.”
