In seeking support for Sudershan Reddy, Revanth evokes Telugu pride – and a throwback to Narasimha Rao

Indian Express

14 hours ago

Hours after former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy was nominated by the INDIA bloc for the Vice President post, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy evoked Telugu pride and asked all parties in the two Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to vote for him.
'INDIA announcing the name of Justice B Sudershan Reddy is a matter of pride for Telugus, and especially those from Telangana,' he said at a press conference. INDIA alliance opted to nominate a non-political person who is a constitutional expert to the post because he is capable of safeguarding the Constitution, he said.
'This is a person from an ordinary farming family. A son of Telangana who studied law at Osmania University, became a judge and rose to great heights. It is a matter of Telugu pride to vote for him by setting aside political differences,' he said. 'It is the responsibility of every Telugu person to vote for him.'
He urged all parties, including Telugu Desam Party, YSR Congress Party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Jana Sena Party, to support him over the NDA candidate, C P Radhakrishnan.
Naming leaders of these parties – from N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrashekar Rao to Asaduddin Owaisi and Pawan Kalyan – he said, 'This is a fight between those who want to safeguard the Constitution and those against it.'
When all Telugu people came together to declare Telugu as a classical language, why shouldn't they come together to support a Telugu son of the soil, he said.
Remembering TDP's NT Rama Rao (NTR), who did not field a candidate in Nandyala by-election against former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, Revanth said, 'I ask the TDP to take the example of NTR who said that Narasimha Rao becoming prime minister is a matter of pride for all Telugus. He did not field a TDP candidate against Narasimha Rao that year.'
This, however, is not a fight between a Tamil candidate and a Telugu candidate, he said. 'This is a fight between those against the Constitution and those protecting it.'
Asked why other parties should vote against NDA's OBC candidate, Revanth said, 'If he (Radhakrishan) becomes V-P, OBCs will suffer because he comes from a party and side which opposes reservation. But Sudershan Reddy headed the expert committee which finally awarded 42% reservation for Backward Classes. He stands for the BCs and the BCs will benefit with him as Vice President.'