‘I’m dil ka raja’: Revanth Reddy snubs Congress high command again, claims he is ‘autonomous’

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has reignited debate within the Congress and beyond by asserting his autonomy from the AICC, following a public disagreement with party in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan.

Hyderabad: Soon after an ugly spat with AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, during which he made it clear that he would not bow to the high command’s diktats, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has claimed he was ‘100 percent autonomous’, that he took his own decisions without any ‘Delhi bindings’.

“I am ‘dil ka raja’. None can make me work forcefully. I do not fear individuals but fear the system and the society,” Revanth Reddy said during a conversation at The Print’s Off the Cuff session held in the city recently.

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He made these comments in response to a query comparing how BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao worked independently as Chief Minister without having to consult Delhi for everything, unlike Congress Chief Ministers.

These claims from the Chief Minister bear significance considering his statements during the recent argument between him and Natarajan over her padayatra, which he was upset about after it was decided by the AICC without consulting him. He had categorically stated that the AICC could not undermine him or belittle him.

His claim of being independent from the high command while taking decisions was not the only one from the interview that has triggered discussions within the Congress and in political circles in Telangana.

Despite all the criticism over his 50 Delhi trips not bringing any substantial benefit for the State from the Centre, Revanth Reddy stuck to his ‘Bade Bhai’ chant on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that the Prime Minister was the ‘big brother of every Chief Minister’. He justified it on cultural grounds, stating that he was respecting Modi because he was older in age, position and experience.

“There is nothing much to read into it politically. If he considers me his ‘Chote bhai’, it is good for me and the State,” Revanth Reddy said, without any explanation why the bhai-bhai chant wasn’t doing Telangana any good.