KTR Tweets, Thanks to Rajiv, Says Revanth

Hyderabad: Underscoring the service of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to the nation by introducing the latest technologies, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday unveiled a statue of the late leader at the Secretariat and promised to install a statue of Telangana Talli in the premises on December 9.

Speaking after unveiling the Rajiv Gandhi statue, Revanth Reddy dared anyone to try to remove the statue from its place. BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao had said that if his party comes back to power, it would shift the statue to the Congress’ office.

Asserting that the Congress government would install the Telangana Talli statue inside the Telangana Secretariat premises on December 9, Revanth Reddy criticised the previous BRS government for failing to install the Telangana Talli statue when it was in power for 10 years.

“Did the Congress object to installing the Telangana Talli statue?” he asked. “He reserved this space to install his own statue,” the Chief Minister said, hinting at former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

“BRS leaders have amassed illegal assets and purchased huge land parcels, but they failed to remember Telangana Talli. When the state government planned to install Rajiv Gandhi's statue, the BRS leaders were making objections,” the Chief Minister said.

Highlighting major decisions, achievements and sacrifices of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as prime ministers, Revanth Reddy said Rajiv Gandhi took monumental decisions like lowering voting age from 21 to 18, transfer of funds to gram panchayats and introduction of computers, which heralded a technology revolution in the country.

Referring to K.T. Rama Rao, he said the BRS working president could become the IT minister during the previous BRS regime only because Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundations for the growth of IT in the country.

"Only because the Congress government introduced computers to India, K.T. Rama Rao is now tweeting his opinions on X (Twitter) sitting in the USA and other places," Revanth Reddy said.

Referring to criticism of the Nehru-Gandhi family, he said Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi did not accept any post, though the Congress came to power after the demise of Rajiv Gandhi. “Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had “sacrificed” their posts and made intellectuals like P.V. Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh Prime Ministers,” Revanth Reddy said.

“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi stand as examples of sacrificing posts. What about these (BRS) people? Father (BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao) was the Chief Minister, son was the IT minister, nephew was the irrigation minister, daughter was a Lok Sabha MP, and another relative was a Rajya Sabha member,” Revanth Reddy said.

“You loot the state, share positions (within the family), build farmhouses in hundreds of acres and you talk about the Gandhi family.”

The Chief Minister said that Rajiv Gandhi's family had sacrificed their lives for the nation, but BRS leaders looted the state by forming a government after Sonia Gandhi formed the Telangana state during the UPA-II regime.

“Nehru's family is the family that lost everything for the freedom of the country. Nehru is credited with merging 563 states into the country and preserving its integrity,” Revanth Reddy said.