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KTR accepts White Challenge; where will Revanth Reddy bury his head now?

Hyderabad: The way TPCC president A Revanth Reddy is tying himself up in knots, it may not be long before he finds himself in exactly the same position as the proverbial ostrich trying to bury its head in the sand. The ‘White Challenge’ concept floated by him, seemingly to ‘expose’ drug users among politicians and […]

By Telangana Today

Updated On - 20 September 2021, 08:29 PM

KTR accepts White Challenge; where will Revanth Reddy bury his head now?

Hyderabad: The way TPCC president A Revanth Reddy is tying himself up in knots, it may not be long before he finds himself in exactly the same position as the proverbial ostrich trying to bury its head in the sand. The ‘White Challenge’ concept floated by him, seemingly to ‘expose’ drug users among politicians and celebrities, has taken a multi-directional trajectory – drawing guffaws from the general public, causing extreme embarrassment to his party and opening up the flanks for a frontal attack by the ruling TRS, particularly IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao.

Completely ignored by the party heavyweights in the State, Revanth Reddy, with just a handful of juniors keeping him company, has been desparately trying to grab media attention, and in doing so, has only been sinking deeper into a political quicksand. Hardly had the sordied ‘donkey’ Shashi Tharoor episode come to an end, Revanth Reddy took to another misadventure – to somehow link Rama Rao with the alleged drugs scandal in the State being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. Not only has it drawn flak from all quarters (save for the likes of AICC Telangana in-charge Manickam Tagore who don’t count), it has also left him vulnerable to judicial scrutiny with the Minister approaching the court with serious charges including defamation against the TPCC leader.

Revanth Reddy tomfoolery came to the fore when he attached newspaper clippings of a massive heroin seizure at Mundra Port in Gujarat and another incident of an Iranian boat caught off the Gujarat coast, while trying to justify the launch of his White Challenge! Pray, tell us, how do you intend to connect the dots that would spell ‘Rama Rao.’

Revanth Reddy’s explanation for naming his ‘drug exposing’ exercise as White Challenge is that the colour of drugs shown in movies is white! Such naivity, or is it? In any case, the ‘bring-your-hair-for-narcotics-test’ exercise drew a sharp retort from Rama Rao, who said he was willing to do it provided Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also willing to offer his head. “I am ready for any test & will travel to AIIMS Delhi if Rahul Gandhi is willing to join. It’s below my dignity to do it with Cherlapally jail alumni (sic),” Rama Rao tweeted, in an obvious reference to Revanth Reddy’s stint at Cherlapally Central Prison in connection with the infamous ‘Note-for-Vote case.

The Minister went on to challenge the TPCC president that if he takes the test and comes out clean, was he (Revanth Reddy) willing to apologise and quit his post? He also threw in an additional challenge to the Congress leader to undergo a lie detector test on the ‘Note-for-Vote’ case.

That the Twitteratti was enjoying every minute of Rama Rao’s counter was evident from the fact that within minutes of the challenge he posed, #RahulDrugTest started trending nationwide on the social media platform with thousands wondering if Rahul Gandhi would take the bait. While some Congress supporters started criticising Revanth Reddy’s actions and his thoughtless acts which had made him a laughing stock in Telangana, others circulated media clippings citing the allegations made by BJP senior leader Subramanya Swamy in the past against Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra (Priyanka Gandhi’s husband) in connection with drug use. Not surprisingly, the issue has caught the attention of national media and triggered a debate across the country.

Meanwhile, several senior Congress leaders at Gandhi Bhavan are enjoying both the discomfiture cause to Revanth Reddy and at the same time are peeved that the newcomer president, a motormouth at that, was hammering nail after nail in the Congress coffin.

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