Telangana: Revanth on mission to revive Rajiv Gandhi's legacy; BRS out to stop him
Even as Telangana CM Revanth Reddy announces plans to install Rajiv Gandhi's statue at the state secretariat, BRS' KTR strongly opposes the move
Telangana had almost forgotten the former Prime Minister of India, the late Rajiv Gandhi.
Moreover, the formation of Telangana state in 2014 and the two successive defeats of the Congress in 2014 and 2019 elections had pushed the grand old party to the verge of extinction in the state. Many loyalists left the party.
Barring the annual tributes, Rajiv Gandhi’s name had disappeared from political debates.
Also, the ousted Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) chief KCR, when he was chief minister started to inscribe his signature on the city, especially around the secretariat. He demolished the old secretariat built by Andhra rulers and erected a multi-storey modern structure as per his taste and vaastu. A few meters away, he erected an 125-feet tall BR Ambedkar statue.
Adjoining this, he set up a martyrs’ memorial, the world's largest stainless-steel structure. Earlier, KCR unfurled the tallest national flag in the nearby park.
Replacing KCR's footprint
KCR's dominant footprint seems to have annoyed Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, a bitter critic of the former. And he decided to carve out a space for the Congress amid the symbols that remind him of KCR’s ten-year rule.
Revanth set the cat among the pigeons when he recently declared that a statue of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi will come up near the state's secretariat, in the heart of Hyderabad. The installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue, in a location as privileged as the secretariat, in a way also symbolises how the Congress stopped KCR's juggernaut in the 2023 Assembly elections.
However, Revanth's move is being strongly opposed by the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and some intellectuals, many of them connected to the previous regime, are strongly opposing the move.
They argued that the place chosen for Rajiv’s statue is sacred as it is reserved for the statue of Telangana Talli (Mother Telangana) and that no other statue can be allowed in that place. Revanth dismissed the BRS' idea of installing the Telangana Talli stating their statue resembled more a dorasani (noble lady) and did not relfect the state’s culture and traditions.
War of words
Revanth Reddy vs KTR
Meanwhile, true to form, Revanth went ahead and announced that a new Mother Telangana statue will be installed in the secretariat premises and Rajiv will occupy a pride of place opposite the complex.
He also alleged the BRS was opposed to a Rajiv statue as the party plans to install a statue of its leader K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) at a future date. Revanth also accused the BRS leader of being a ‘drunkard confined to a farmhouse' and said he does not deserve a statue.
This remark has sparked off an intense war of words between the Congress and the BRS.
Reclaiming Rajiv Gandhi's legacy
There was a time when Congress leaders in Telugu states quite often tapped into Rajiv's legacy to demonstrate their loyalty to the party. Between 2004 and 2009, in undivided Andhra Pradesh, then chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy ran the state using Rajiv's name.
It began with the naming of the Hyderabad International Airport as Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Later, more than a dozen schemes were given Rajiv prefixes like Rajiv Arogyasri, Rajiv Yuvakiranalu, Rajiv Gruhakalpa and Rajiv Yuvasakti.
The process came to a halt with the revival of the statehood movement in Telangana following Rajasekhar Reddy’s death in 2009. After the formation of Telangana in 2014, it seemed incongruous to tap into Rajiv's name for successive Telugu governments.
Undoing Rajiv's legacy
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, who became chief minister of residuary Andhra Pradesh in 2014, replaced the Rajiv Gandhi prefix with NTR, while in Telangana the names of Telangana cultural icons started adorning the schemes and universities. This led to the disappearance of the Rajiv chapter in state politics.
Revanth's critics say the CM is under the notion that installing a Rajiv statue opposite the secretariat amid the symbols of KCR’s legacy will strengthen his position in the eyes of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi.
A group of intellectuals that include Prof G Haragopal, Ashok Tankasala, Allam Narayana, Nandid Siddhareddy and Gorati Venkanna have written an open letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urging him to ensure that Rajiv’s statue is not installed at the site reserved for the statue of Telangana Talli.
“The statue of Telangana Talli was designed as a symbol of the region’s culture, heritage and pride of the Telangana people. Replacing it with Rajiv Gandhi’s statue undermines the identity and spirit of the people who fought for statehood,” they wrote in the letter last week.
Stating that Rajiv Gandhi’s statue can be installed in any location other than at the place reserved for Telangana Talli, the intellectuals sought to remind that Rajiv’s statue does not carry the same cultural and emotional significance for the Telugu people as Telangana Talli. They urged Rahul Gandhi to tell the state government to reconsider its decision.
KTR hits back
Meanwhile, BRS working president KT Ramarao has announced that the BRS, once it returns to power in the future, will remove the statue of Rajiv Gandhi if it is installed in the place earmarked for Telangana Talli.
“We are coming to power after four years. The first thing we will do is to move the Rajiv Gandhi statue. Rajiv Gandhi humiliated Telangana Bidda, Tanguturi Anjaiah, when he was chief minister. We won’t allow statues of a person who insulted Telangana people. We would also remove Rajiv’s name from the international airport at Hyderabad,” he said.
This statement has infuriated Revanth. And, he accused KTR of opposing the installation of the Rajiv statue since it will frustrate his future plans to install his father KCR’s statue in the secretariat premises.
Addressing a gathering on Rajiv's birth anniversary in Hyderabad, Revanth warned that BRS will face strong retaliation if KTR ever touched Rajiv's statue. “Congress workers will hit you with slippers. Do you (KTR) wish to replace Rajiv’s statue with your father’s? Your talk of returning to power will remain only a pipedream. KCR will be confined to Chintamadaka (KCR’s native place),” Revanth said and assured party workers that a statue will come up before the secretariat while the statue of Telugu Talli will be erected inside.
Revanth vs KTR
This showdown has been temporarily relegated to the background with another confrontation building up between Revanth and KT Rama Rao. This is because the farmhouse in which Rama Rao currently resides has become the target for demolition by the newly-created body HYDRA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Projection).
The farmhouse, which KTR says he took on lease and is not built in the lake area, is a legal structure. But, HYDRA seems to be intent on moving to demolish the farmhouse.
Congress sources said Revanth is unlikely to relent on the Rajiv statue issue as he has already declared that BRS’ Telangana Talli doesn’t represent Telangana culture in any way.