The chief minister stated that the proposed law would ensure strict punishment for anyone engaging in speech or actions that insult other faiths.
Published Dec 21, 2025 | 10:03 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 21, 2025 | 10:03 AM
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other ministers during a meeting. (X)
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced a proposed legislation to curb hate speech and penalise denigration of religions, signalling how the Congress government intends to navigate the terrain of religion and electoral politics.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Christmas-eve address at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday, 20 December, was less a ceremonial greeting and more a carefully calibrated political statement, signalling how the Congress government in Telangana intends to navigate the terrain of religion and electoral politics.
The announcement of proposed legislation to curb hate speech and penalise denigration of religions marked the speech’s core political message. Couched as a law-and-order necessity to preserve communal harmony, the proposal also functions as a sharp contrast to the polarised national discourse, where religiously charged rhetoric has become a recurring flashpoint.
Without naming any party, the chief minister’s remarks implicitly positioned the Congress as the institutional antidote to politics driven by divisive politics.
The chief minister stated that the proposed law would ensure strict punishment for anyone engaging in speech or actions that insult other faiths.
“Every citizen is free to practise their religion, but respecting other religions is equally essential. Any attempt to disturb communal harmony will be dealt with firmly,” he said, adding that his government has already suppressed incidents of religion-based attacks.
Delivering the message at a Christian gathering, he apparently intended it for a wider minority audience, particularly Muslims.
By repeatedly emphasising that minority welfare is a “right, not charity” and that religion-based attacks would invite stringent legal consequences, Revanth Reddy sought to reassure minorities that the State would act as a constitutional shield for them.
At the same time, the speech avoided overt community-specific signalling. By rooting his argument in the universal teachings of Jesus Christ — love, peace and service to humanity — the chief minister described the proposed law as morally inclusive rather than politically selective. This careful balancing appears aimed at consolidating minority support without alienating moderate Hindu voters who value social harmony.
On 18 December, the Congress-led Karnataka government had passed the contentious Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, amid uproar from the Opposition and an incomplete debate in the Assembly.
With this, the state became the first in the country to introduce dedicated legislation to tackle hate speech and hate crimes.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
