Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has sparked a political storm by questioning the circumstances surrounding the death of former Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath.
Published Nov 07, 2025 | 11:41 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 07, 2025 | 11:41 PM
The Chief Minister acknowledged that there were conflicting reports about Gopinath’s death.
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has challenged Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar to file a formal complaint if he suspects foul play in the death of former BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. The remarks follow Sanjay’s demand for an inquiry into Gopinath’s allegedly suspicious death and property dealings, which he claimed involved senior BRS leaders.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has challenged Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar to file a formal complaint if he suspects any foul play in the death of former Jubilee Hills BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath.
Reddy said the police would begin an inquiry once a complaint was filed. His remarks came a day after Sanjay questioned the circumstances surrounding Gopinath’s death earlier this year.
“If he has any doubts, let him file a complaint either with the DGP or the local police station. He is the Home Minister, let him walk the talk. The police will investigate and ferret out the truth. As for me, I have no intention of making this a political issue,” Reddy said at a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday, 7 November.
The Chief Minister acknowledged that there were conflicting reports about Gopinath’s death.
“I was told that there were differing accounts of when exactly the death occurred. I was also told that Gopinath’s death was announced only after KT Rama Rao arrived,” he said.
He added that he had heard allegations that Gopinath’s fingerprints were taken on property-related documents after his death. Gopinath’s mother, who said she was denied entry into the ICU, had accused the BRS Working President of preventing her from seeing her son.
“This is a grave allegation,” Reddy said. “I don’t believe any mother would make such a claim for personal gain.”
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has sparked a political storm by questioning the circumstances surrounding the death of former Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath.
In a post on X on Thursday, 6 November, he called for a full-fledged investigation into the incident and the property dealings linked to it.
“Why was his mother not allowed to see him in the hospital? Why was his son from his first wife denied the right to perform his father’s last rites?” Sanjay asked. “The BRS leadership stooped so low that they denied a grieving family its final moments together.”
He went on to allege that Gopinath’s mother and son from his first marriage had made separate accusations – “the mother blaming KTR for not helping her at the hospital, and the son saying former Minister Puvvada Ajay threatened him.”
He further asked, “When did Gopinath actually die? Why was the announcement delayed? For whose benefit?”
Sanjay also targeted the Congress government, questioning whether there was a secret property-sharing understanding between Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and KT Rama Rao.
“Is that why there’s no investigation or arrest in cases involving KCR’s [K Chandrashekar Rao] family? Are Revanth and KTR dividing Gopinath’s assets behind closed doors?” he asked. “If Revanth is sincere, what’s stopping him from ordering a probe today?”
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said he did not view the upcoming by-election for Jubilee Hills as a referendum but would introspect if he lost.
“I take every election seriously. It is a reflection on the state’s governance. I campaign with the same passion for every seat. If there’s a setback, I make an introspection,” he said.
Exuding confidence, he predicted a clear victory for the Congress.
“The people can see the unholy alliance between the BRS and BJP. This is an election between the Congress, Left parties and MIM on one side, and the BRS-BJP combine on the other. Kishan Reddy is moving heaven and earth to help the BRS win the by-election. Poor Sanjay doesn’t even know what’s cooking inside his own party – he’s just trying to save the BJP candidate’s security deposit,” he quipped.
Asked about Sanjay’s remark that he donned a skullcap to “impress Muslims” during the campaign, Reddy responded with sarcasm.
“I have plenty of photos of Prime Minister Modi wearing one too. Let Sanjay first get his party’s stand straight,” he said.
On Sanjay’s appeal to Hindus not to vote for the Congress, Reddy countered sharply: “On 14 November, when the results are out and the BJP loses its deposit, will Sanjay admit that Hindus are not with the BJP?”
The Chief Minister then invoked the Congress legacy, saying that between 2004 and 2014, the Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh had launched transformative projects such as the Hyderabad International Airport, IIT, Metro Rail and IT corridors.
“We built the foundations of a modern Hyderabad. The BRS and BJP together stalled projects like ITIR that could have taken the city to new heights,” he said.
Taking aim at the BRS, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said none of the party’s major initiatives had actually helped the people.
“They built Kaleshwaram, Pragati Bhavan and a new Secretariat, but none of these helped the people. When Hyderabad was under floodwaters, [Union Minister] Kishan Reddy didn’t release even a single rupee in central aid. And when a temple was demolished in the Secretariat, he looked the other way.”
Calling the Kaleshwaram project a “₹1 lakh crore white elephant,” Reddy said it had benefited neither farmers nor the public.
“Pragati Bhavan was a fortress for one family. KCR built it with bulletproof bathrooms, paranoid about his own people,” he said, adding that the BRS government had left behind a debt burden of ₹8.11 lakh crore for the state.
Taking a dig at KT Rama Rao and Kishan Reddy, he dubbed them the “Bad Brothers of Hyderabad.”
“PJR and Marri Shashidhar Reddy were once called the Hyderabad Brothers for serving the city. Today’s duo–KTR and Kishan Reddy–are blocking Metro extensions, Godavari water projects and the Future City initiative,” he said.
The Chief Minister outlined a series of development plans, including new airports for Warangal and Adilabad, a greenfield highway to Machilipatnam port, and a 1-billion-dollar pharma investment by Eli Lilly.
“We brought in ₹3 lakh crore of investments in a single year. Some projects were delayed due to the Lok Sabha election code, but the blueprint for Hyderabad’s expansion is ready,” he said confidently.
Reddy also accused BRS leaders of encroaching on 44 of Hyderabad’s 695 ponds, saying the party had turned the city’s water bodies into real estate.
“We have removed encroachments and restored Bathukamma Kunta, Sunnam Cheruvu and Nalla Cheruvu. Let’s form a fact-finding panel and see who the real culprits are,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
