While most of us were waiting to see how former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would function as an opposition leader, I was also wondering whether Revanth Reddy and his government would carve out their own niche in terms of governance. This would be important, especially because KCR’s welfare schemes had already set a standard, and his son, ex-industries and IT minister KT Rama Rao (KTR), had poised himself as a visionary of sorts for Hyderabad’s urban development.
But one year and four months down the line, the Congress seems to have faltered on more than one occasion. And it has come at the cost of a looming PR disaster. Currently, the state government is facing severe backlash from the public over its plans to turn 400 acres of green space in Gachibowli into a real estate project.
Land, culture, state emblem
The said land, which was originally with the University of Hyderabad (UoH), legally came into possession of the state last year. As it was a safe haven for university students, protests erupted—especially after the state sent JCBs to clear the land. Photos and videos of animals being thrown out of their habitat generated severe criticism from the public. Currently, the matter is being heard in the Supreme Court.
Additionally, the Congress in Telangana has had a few other missteps. In its bid to erase KCR’s stamp from the state’s identity, the government seems eager to overhaul everything. For example, changing the vehicle registration code from TS (introduced under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government) to TG.
Last year, the ruling party drew flak after rumours spread that the Telangana emblem would be redesigned. Images of a redesigned emblem were circulated on social media, omitting the Kakatiya Thoranam (arch) and the Charminar that represent both the dynasties that once ruled over Telangana and Hyderabad.
Word spread like wildfire that the Charminar might be omitted from the new emblem. The Muslim community did not take it well. They saw it as an attempt to erase their identity from the state. Though Revanth Reddy wanted to undo whatever the BRS had its stamp on, the state government for now has quietly shelved plans to redesign the emblem.
Moreover, after becoming the CM, one of the first things Revanth Reddy did to make his mark was to set up the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRA) on unauthorised structures. Initiated to protect lakes and green spaces, and to ensure that real estate developers don’t violate laws, the word HYDRAA has now become something that people fear.
While preserving lakes is, of course, necessary, HYDRAA drew flak for targeting buildings that had been constructed with approvals of the previous government. Real estate in Hyderabad has seen a slump—industry insiders tell me that land prices have taken a hit because of how HYDRAA has been functioning. That said, it looks like HYDRAA has now settled down a bit, and things seem to be more orderly, if still chaotic, than earlier.
What really irked many in Hyderabad was the state’s overzealousness crackdown on drugs last year. CM Reddy was quite vocal about clamping down on drug users. It translated into the state Narcotics Bureau officials overstepping and stunning the entire city into fear.
Police officials began barging into clubs and restro-bars on weekends, and began collecting urine samples from supposed suspects. It was a shocker. Nobody in the last decade had ever seen anything like that happening.
On more than one occasion, the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau raided some of Hyderabad’s fanciest pubs and clubs for drug tests. It sent partygoers into a tizzy, with many completely being homebound. It eventually stopped, thankfully.
Also read: Revanth Reddy was all about lake protection last year. This year, he’s destroying them
Do the work
In a clear violation of public trust, the Congress government then started behaving exactly like it had once accused the previous BRS government of being—an authoritarian state. All this, despite its promises to be better and do things differently from ex-CM KCR.
Journalist Revathi P was arrested from her home in the early morning of 12 March by the Hyderabad police. Cops took her and her colleague Thanvi Yadav into custody over the broadcast of a video on Pulse News, which Revathi is the managing director of.
The video in question had an old, frustrated farmer lashing out at Reddy. The man was abusing the CM, but does that warrant Revathi’s arrest? I am not sure.
When the BRS came to power, it launched a whole new bunch of social welfare schemes and brought hope to the people of Telangana. It promised to provide free drinking water across the state via Mission Bhagiratha, for example, and KTR promised to boost the IT sector. It did not go about harping on how bad the past governments were—instead, it got on with the work. And of course, the Congress, then as the opposition, questioned it.
It’s time the Congress, with its very capable leaders undo its PR disasters. Otherwise, that’s what it will be remembered for.
Yunus Lasania is a Hyderabad-based journalist whose work primarily focuses on politics, history and culture. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)