Hyderabad, Jul 30 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday expressed concern over engineering graduates’ employability but his “criminal waste” remarks made in the context drew sharp response from the opposition BRS and the BJP.
Speaking at an event here on Thursday, the CM said education and skill development were like two eyes for him and expressed concern over the employability of engineering graduates.
Noting that 1.10 lakh engineering graduates complete their course in the state, he said many of them are unable to write an application for a job.
“You (teachers) give a plain paper to them (engineering graduates) and tell them to write a job application. Criminal waste. He won’t apply for a small job because he studied engineering. He does not learn skills,” Reddy said.
He clarified that he was not blaming the graduates, but the education system.
The opposition BRS and BJP accused Reddy of “insulting” engineering graduates and their abilities by describing them as “criminal waste”.
BRS Working President K T Rama Rao asked what qualifications does the CM have to say so.
“Did he ever write any competitive exam in his entire life? Did he ever appear for an interview for a job? Did he ever work anywhere in a professional environment,” the BRS leader said in a post on X.
In a statement, state BJP Chief Spokesperson N V Subhash claimed that while top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi referred to students as “idiots,” his “protégé” Revanth Reddy has gone a step further by calling engineering students “criminal waste.” Calling engineers the “backbone of our country”, he said Congress has committed a grave sin by “insulting” them.
“Will the self-proclaimed Gen Z activists speak up now, or does their outrage surface only when they receive instructions from their political masters,” he asked.
The “cockroach” remark was neither made by a BJP leader nor by anyone in the Modi government. Yet, the CJP turned it into a political controversy, leading to protests, vandalism, attacks on police personnel and abusive slogans against the Prime Minister, Subhash said.
“Will the cockroach gang now raise its voice against Revanth Reddy’s insulting remarks or will its conscience and self-respect remain conveniently silent,” he asked.
Meanwhile, Congress Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy hit out at Rama Rao, saying the BRS working president entered politics through a “political legacy” and not rose through the grassroots.
“Revanth Reddy is a self-made leader who rose step by step—from ZPTC member to MLC, MLA, MP, and now chief minister,” he said.
The MP said history is filled with the achievements of great leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill whose influence came from leadership and determination “and not academic degrees or family privilege”.
Grassroots leaders understand the aspirations of the people far better than those who arrive by parachute into politics, he added. PTI SJR SJR ROH SA
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