‘High corruption, poor governance’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy compares Pinarayi Vijayan to KCR

Kochi: Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday compared CM Pinarayi Vijayan's two-term tenure to that of former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, alleging both were marked by high corruption and poor governance. Responding to criticism from Left cadre regarding the implementation of guarantees in Telangana, Reddy invited Vijayan to visit the Congress-ruled state to see how the guarantees are being implemented there. "Vijayan has been running the state for the last 10 years, and it is very similar to how K Chandrashekar Rao ran Telangana from 2014 to around 2024. The similarities include family rule, highest corruption and lowest governance," said Reddy. He said a ‘miracle' happened in Telangana when people defeated Rao in Dec 2023 and elected the Congress govt. Reddy expressed confidence that people in Kerala would similarly vote for UDF for at least the next two terms. Reddy said the KCR era saw a collapse of governance, while now Telangana has attracted industries and recorded high per capita income and low inflation, whereas inflation in Kerala is among the highest. He said the state has launched a vision document titled ‘Telangana Rising 2047', aiming to become a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and a $3 trillion economy by 2047. "If Telangana can do all these, why can't Kerala do it?" he asked. "I want to challenge Vijayan. I will make arrangements for you to come to Telangana. I will come with you or ask my minister to explain to you and your team how we are implementing all our six guarantees," Reddy said. He added that the time has come for the people of Kerala to decide who should run the govt and assured that he would stand with the people of Kerala and that UDF would implement the guarantees promised to them. Meanwhile, Reddy also said southern states should unite against the Union govt's proposed delimitation exercise, alleging it would reduce the political power of southern states. He claimed the increase in Lok Sabha seats would widen the gap between states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, making people in the south ‘second-grade citizens'. "Why is Vijayan not asking to stop the policy of 50% increase in seats to Lok Sabha? Today Kerala has 20 MPs while Uttar Pradesh has 80 MPs. After delimitation, the seats in Kerala will be 30 and UP will be 120, increasing the gap in seats by 90 seats. This will make us second-grade citizens in our own country," he said. He further alleged that Vijayan was not questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi on such issues due to corruption charges. "This is called Modi brothers. One brother is sitting in Delhi, the other is sitting in Thiruvananthapuram," Reddy said.