Former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday slammed Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for his statement linking the state's anti-encroachment agency HYDRAA to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan called the remarks shocking and an affront to democratic values.
In the post, Vijayan further said that Reddy had publicly and proudly claimed that HYDRAA, the agency set up to implement what he termed a "bulldozer raj", was inspired by Hitler, one of history's most notorious dictators.
The CPI(M) veteran alleged that a chief minister of a democratic country had openly spoken of drawing inspiration from a system associated with violence and authoritarianism.
Calling the remarks "shameful", Vijayan said it was alarming that a Congress chief minister had publicly expressed admiration for a figure widely regarded as the embodiment of fascism.
He further alleged that Reddy's comments reflected not merely a slip of the tongue but the Congress party's underlying political character, and claimed that the Telangana Chief Minister's past association with the Sangh Parivar had also influenced such views.
Vijayan said the remarks reinforced the Left's contention that the Congress could never effectively oppose the "fascist policies" of the BJP and RSS, and urged democratic-minded citizens to recognise the danger posed by such positions.
The criticism came after Reddy, speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Saturday, said he had decided to establish HYDRAA after observing widespread encroachments of lakes, nalas and other waterbodies in Hyderabad.
Explaining the name, the Telangana Chief Minister said, "Hydra was Hitler's favourite word. His core team, which can assassinate anyone, was called Hydra. So, I have taken inspiration from Hitler, and I have named it HYDRAA."
He said the organisation was headed by a senior IPS officer and was tasked with tackling encroachments.
Hydra, however, is a fictional organisation in Marvel Comics and is portrayed as a Nazi-linked scientific and terrorist outfit during World War II.
The Telangana government established Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) in July 2024 to protect government assets, such as lakes, from encroachments and other illegal activities.
The agency has been carrying out operations to remove encroachments and has demolished several alleged illegal structures.
(With inputs from PTI)
