Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday called for Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to become prime minister, saying his leadership was necessary to secure justice for backward classes and steer the country towards progress.
Addressing the 174th birth anniversary celebrations of Panduga Sayanna Mudiraj, a figure associated with the struggle for backward-class rights, Reddy said the Nehru family chose other leaders to head the government despite having opportunities to take the top post after Rajiv Gandhi's death, news agency PTI reported.
"Rahul Gandhi should become prime minister if justice is to be done to the backward classes. They could have become (PM) long ago had they wanted it. After Rajiv Gandhi's death, Congress came to power many times," he said.
He also appealed to people to set aside their differences and make a positive choice when the next Lok Sabha elections are held.
Telangana government considers Mudiraj community's BC-A status
Reddy said his government was committed to strengthening the political representation of all backward-class communities. He announced that a cabinet sub-committee would be formed to examine the demand for including the Mudiraj community in the BC-A category.
The community currently falls under the BC-D category in Telangana. According to Reddy, the matter would be taken up at the next cabinet meeting, with officials and legal experts consulted before a decision is made.
He also asked Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar to engage with other backward communities, including Gangaputras, who are already classified under BC-A, to address concerns about the distribution of reservation benefits.
Revanth Reddy highlights caste survey and welfare measures
Referring to the caste survey conducted by his government, Reddy said the findings had enabled different communities to raise their concerns more effectively.
He also highlighted the government's food distribution programme, contrasting it with the subsidised rice scheme introduced by former undivided Andhra Pradesh chief minister N T Rama Rao.
While Rama Rao had launched a scheme providing rice at two rupees per kilogram, Reddy said his government was supplying fine-quality rice free of cost to 3.48 crore people through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
He added that his government was continuing policies pursued by former chief ministers N Chandrababu Naidu and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh, as well as K Chandrasekhar Rao after Telangana was formed.
Statues of Telangana figures planned at Tank Bund
Reddy also announced plans to install statues of prominent Telangana personalities, including Doddi Komuraiah and Panduga Sayanna, at Tank Bund on the banks of Hussain Sagar lake.
Recalling Sayanna's legacy, he said the social figure had stood up for marginalised people when feudal landlords encroached on their lands during Nizam rule.
Reddy said Sayanna was arrested by the Nizam's police, after which the queen of Wanaparthy Samsthanam, a feudal estate, paid a substantial amount to secure his release.
He said Sayanna was killed unjustly and noted that songs celebrating his contributions continued to be sung during agricultural activities such as sowing, even more than a century after his death.
(With inputs from PTI)