HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday lamented that the presence of Telugu leaders in national politics has been diminishing over time.
He recalled the key roles played by former President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao and former undivided Andhra Pradesh chief minister NT Rama Rao in national politics, adding that after these leaders, former Union minister S Jaipal Reddy and former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu maintained that level to some extent.
Revanth was speaking at the launch of a book titled “Governorpet to Governor House” authored by former DGP and former governor PS Rama Mohan Rao at the MCHRD Institute here.
Expressing concern that Telugus are not that visible in national politics these days, the chief minister said that this does not bode well for the survival of Telugu identity. He recalled that Telugu was the most widely spoken language in the country after Hindi.
“When PV Narasimha Rao contested from Nandyal, NTR tried to make his election unanimous by not fielding a candidate from the TDP. He did this because he welcomed a Telugu person becoming the prime minister,” Revanth said.
He stated that there was nothing wrong with following a good tradition in politics now and then, adding that his government would also adopt such good traditions. “Even if we are separated as states, we need to stay together as human beings. We will do our best to develop the states,” Revanth said.