Revanth Reddy's verbal diarrhoea stings Telangana Congress yet again

HYDERABAD: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief A Revanth Reddy’s recent comments about transgender persons, while issuing a challenge to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), stirred controversy and has left the party feeling embarrassed once again.

Daring the Chief Minister to contest from Gajwel again and give tickets to all sitting legislators, the TPCC chief repeatedly said the former would be viewed as "neither male nor female" if he failed to meet his two challenges.

Coming close on the heels of his controversial remarks on free power — which Revanth Reddy tried to retract by making a counter-offensive — his alleged insensitive references to transgender persons and manual scavengers were slammed by BRS leaders.

"On one hand, the AICC claims to have appointed a transgender person as a secretary of the women’s wing and on the other, Revanth Reddy drags them into his political discourse in a highly derogatory manner, causing deep pain to them," said BRS leader Dasoju Sravan.

This is not the first instance of the TPCC Chief suffering from foot-in-mouth syndrome. Here are a few examples of his below the belt comments on his political opponents which put the Congress in an embarrassing situation.

Targetting KTR as "bathroom cleaner"

Right from 2018, given a chance, Revanth Reddy personally targeted BRS Working President and IT Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) and accused him of being a bathroom cleaner. "KTR isn't capable of even getting chaprasi job in Telangana. If you search google to know who cleans his bathroom in US, You will know it's none other than KTR." he said.

Body shaming BRS Minister

During a press conference held earlier in July, 2023, Revanth described Telangana BC Welfare and Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalkar "a fat, ugly bandicoot". This was in response to the minister, who burnt effigy of Revanth for his controversial comments against free electricity.

Disrespecting seniors in Congress

It is not just the opposition. The TPCC Chief was also critical of his own party senior and MP Shashi Tharoor. In 2021, when Tharoor visited Hyderabad and praised KTR, A miffed Revanth then called Tharoor a ‘gadha’ (donkey) and hoped that the party would expel him, as the MP was proving to be a liability.

“He who has praised the IT Minister should also know about the state of affairs here. That donkey should have been tagged (in the tweet). If both speak to each other in English, it won’t bring any change here,” Revanth said. He initially denied making the comment and even called KTR a liar for tweeting ‘fake news’ but when audio clip on the subject went viral, he was forced him to backtrack his comments.

Revanth Reddy's spate of controversial comments has always put the State Congress unit in an uncomfortable position. Many of Revanth's partymen have been critical of his diatribe. "Revanth’s expression is definitely belittling the profession," a senior Congress leader said.

While robust political discourse is essential in a democratic society, it is equally vital for leaders to exercise restraint and respect when engaging in public debates. Summing up Revanth Reddy's political discourse, a Twitter user Nayini Anurag Reddy pointed out, "While robust political discourse is essential in a democratic society, it is equally vital for leaders to exercise restraint and respect when engaging in public debates. Criticism and counter arguments are inherent to politics. However, how ethical is it to stoop below the belt and engage in cheap politics?"