HYDERABAD: Alleging that the Sangh Parivar was the greatest threat to the country and democracy, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said he was ready to sacrifice his life for the Gandhi Parivar to save the country. “The entire nation should stand with the Gandhi Parivar to defeat the Sangh Parivar,” he asserted.
Revanth received the ‘Aryadan Muhammad-2026’ Best Public Servant Award in Kerala on Friday. Addressing the gathering later, he said, “Today the fight is between the Sangh Parivar and the Gandhi Parivar.”
He alleged that the Sangh Parivar was trying to divide the nation on the basis of caste, religion, region and language, while the Gandhi Parivar had sacrificed for the country. He cited the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and stated that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had sacrificed positions including that of prime minister and party president.
“As the fight is between the Sangh Parivar and Gandhi Parivar, I am asking this nation to stand with the Gandhi Parivar to defeat the Sangh Parivar, which is the biggest threat to this country and democracy. I am there to sacrifice my life for the Gandhi Parivar to save this country,” he said.
The chief minister asserted that Kerala would lead this “war” and referred to the state’s electoral history, linking Congress victories in Kerala with subsequent changes at the Centre.
There’ll be Congress-led govt at Centre: Revanth
Revanth cited 1991, when K Karunakaran was chief minister and PV Narasimha Rao became prime minister, and 2001, when AK Antony became chief minister and Congress returned to power at the Centre in 2004.
He also referred to the period since 2014, when Pinarayi Vijayan became chief minister and Narendra Modi became prime minister. He said a fresh wind was now blowing from Kerala following Congress’ victory in the state and described Kerala as a “bellwether state”. “Congress hawa has started from here. We have to make it a tsunami across India and see Rahul Gandhi as PM,” he said.
Stating that he had started his political journey from local bodies and become the chief minister in 20 years because of the Congress, Revanth said his only wish was to see Rahul Gandhi become prime minister.
“My life is fully satisfied. Now, my only dream is to make Rahul Gandhi the prime minister of India. There will be a Congress-led government in Delhi and Rahul will become PM,” he said.
Revanth also accused the NDA and Modi of undermining democracy, alleging “vote ki chori, party ki chori, symbol ki chori, funds ki chori” and saying the future of the country’s youth was being affected. “They are stealing the foundation of democracy and India — the integrity of the vote and the Election Commission of India,” Revanth said.
He thanked Kerala for what he described as its commitment to secularism and support for the Congress. Expressing happiness over receiving the award, he described Aryadan Muhammed as a veteran politician who served as an MLA eight times, including four times as a minister, and the Congress for more than five decades.
AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal presented the award to Revanth. He is the first person from outside Kerala to receive the award, according to the organisers. The award was instituted in memory of veteran Kerala Congress leader Aryadan Muhammed.