HYDERABAD: Describing the BJP as “more dangerous than the colonial British rulers”, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday vowed to never let the BJP “set foot” into Telangana and to stop it at all costs.
Addressing the AICC session — attended by senior Congress leaders including CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi — held on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Revanth appealed to Congress workers and Gandhi followers to take responsibility for defeating the BJP across the nation. Gujarat is a BJP stronghold and the party’s top leaders hail from the state.
“With a strong resolve from here, we are going to defeat the BJP in Telangana. I appeal to every Congress worker and Gandhi follower to take the responsibility of defeating the BJP in the coming days,” he stated. He declared BJP leaders to be “more dangerous than the British” and called for their removal from Indian politics, in the same manner that colonial rulers were driven out.
The chief minister compared BJP leaders to British colonial rulers, claiming that while the British never physically attacked Mahatma Gandhi during the decades-long freedom struggle that he led, Gandhi was killed barely six months after India’s Independence.
Lacing his speech with rhetoric, historical comparisons and emotionally charged appeals, Revanth positioned the Congress, led by the Gandhi family and Rahul Gandhi, as the true inheritors of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, urging all citizens to rise in opposition to what he termed the “Godse ideology.”
Alleging that the saffron party was a political force driven by Nathuram Godse’s ideology, the chief minister accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading this ideology across the country. Among his criticisms of the BJP-led Union government was its handling of the farmers’ protests.
The chief minister accused the Modi government of enacting anti-farmer laws and showing authoritarian disregard for public dissent by refusing to engage in dialogue with the protesting farmers, who fought persistently for over a year.
Revanth targets Modi on Manipur
Revanth also sharply condemned the Centre’s response to the Manipur crisis, alleging that the prime minister instigated violence in the region, thereby violating the fundamental right to life of indigenous communities.
The chief minister also attacked the prime minister’s promise of creating two crore jobs annually—a promise he pointed out has remained unfulfilled even after 11 years of the BJP being in power.
He also accused the “Modi-Shah leadership” of exacerbating youth unemployment.
Revanth further accused the BJP of stifling democratic discourse by not allowing Rahul Gandhi to speak in the Lok Sabha, particularly on the issue of the caste census.
Drawing a contrast, he said that the Congress-led Telangana government had promptly implemented Rahul Gandhi’s promises, including a farm loan waiver and conducting a caste census within 10 months of taking office.
Invoking the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he asserted that Telangana’s integration into the Indian Union under Patel’s leadership forged a deep connection between Telangana and Gujarat.