Union Minister for NE States Kishan Reddy takes over as Telangana BJP chief — even as Manipur reels from violence

At a time when he was supposed to be in Manipur to douse the flames of communalism, Reddy took up the mantle from the outgoing president.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jul 21, 2023 | 8:57 PM ⚊UpdatedJul 21, 2023 | 8:57 PM

G Kishan Reddy, who is the Union Minister for North Eastern States, took up the mantle of BJP's Telangana unit as its president on 21 July. (Twitter)

G Kishan Reddy, who is the Union Minister for North Eastern states, took up the mantle of BJP's Telangana unit as its president on 21 July. (Twitter)

At a time the nation’s collective conscience has been badly shaken by the shameful parading and cruel rape of two tribal women in Manipur, Union Minister for North Eastern States G Kishan Reddy on Friday, 21 July, went through the elaborate rituals of his coronation as president of the BJP in Telangana.

The outrage against the horrific incident involving two Kuki tribal women in Manipur rocked Parliament and all Opposition parties were up in arms over the lack of action against the perpetrators of the heinous crime — as also the lack of interest in dealing with the explosive situation in the northeastern state, which has acquired a communal colour though it is essentially an issue related to reservations.

After remaining silent for 79 days on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, said that the incident had put 140 crore Indians to shame. He had said that the accused would not be spared, which triggered widespread condemnation from several quarters for letting the Manipur situation fester.

Also Read: Kishan Reddy prevented by police from visiting housing project site

Kishan Reddy coronated as chief

Against this backdrop, Kishan Reddy took over as Telangana BJP president for the fourth time, at 11:45 am at the party headquarters in Nampally.

At a time when he should have ideally have been focused on Manipur, consulting with the chief minister to ensure justice for the victims and douse the flames of communalism, Kishan Reddy took the mantle of responsibility from outgoing president Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Those present on the occasion included BJP’s Telangana in-charge Prakash Javadekar and state party affairs in-charge Tarun Chugh.

Before heading to the party’s headquarters, Kishan Reddy took darshan at Sri Bhagya Laxmi Mandir at the historic Charminar and later paid floral tributes to social reformer Jyotirao Phule’s statue at Amberpet.

He also paid homage at the statues of the Indian Constitution’s chief architect Dr BR Ambedkar, and “Iron Man of India” and first Union home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

He also visited the Telangana Martyrs Memorial at Gun Park in front of the state Assembly.

Speaking on the occasion, Kishan Reddy said the BJP’s fight against the “family rule” of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao would be intensified, and added that both BRS and Congress were the same and that was the main reason why the Congress had allocated land for the BRS when it was in power in united Andhra Pradesh.

No one, including Telangana Chief Minister KCR and AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, matches and defeats Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. He added that a silent wave that is prevailing in Telangana would wash the BRS and Congress away.

Also Read: Replacing Bandi with Kishan Reddy: BJP game to take down Congress

Prepping for Assembly elections

For the fourth time, the central leadership appointed Kishan Reddy as the state party president. With his appointment, Reddy has a huge task of settling internal differences among the leaders in the party and gearing up for the year-end elections.

With the BRS and Congress having already started redrawing their strategies for the next Assembly elections after the poll results in neighbouring Karnataka, the BJP is yet to focus on its preparations for the impending joust at the hustings.

Over the past few years, the BJP has been gaining traction in Telangana. The party won two by-elections — in Dubbaka and Huzurabad — and managed to win a majority of the municipal divisions in the GHMC elections.

Though its candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy lost the by-election in Munugode, the party improved its vote share significantly compared to the 2018 Assembly elections in Telangana.

But after witnessing drubbing in Karnataka, internal differences started cropping up, leaving the cadre in a confused state which the party can ill afford as there is very little time before the elections.

Also Read: Congress victory in Karnataka casts shadow on Telangana BJP

Tags:  

Recommended For You

Latest News

Top News