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‘I have done schooling with you, graduated with Babu, and work under Rahul': Revanth to Modi
Hyderabad: Recalling an interesting exchange involving him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last NITI Aayog meeting in the national capital, Revanth said that Modi told him while pointing at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that his 'friend' had come.
In response, Revanth Reddy told the PM, "I have done my schooling (Revanth was a member of ABVP when his roots were with RSS) with you, graduated with N Chandrababu Naidu (he was in TDP under Naidu), and work under Rahul Gandhi."
On Sunday, Revanth shared this while addressing the release of the Telugu version of Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya's autobiography "Prajala Kathe Naa Atmakatha" (The Story of the people is my autobiography) on Sunday.
Sharing 40 years of his personal relationship with him and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Revanth Reddy said the journey of Dattatreya, "from Gowliguda Basti to Haryana Governor had many ups and downs."
Revanth Reddy said that at the national level, former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was known as the 'Ajaata Shathru' (person with no enemies) and earned the respect of leaders from across the political spectrum, whether he held any position or not. Similarly, Dattatreya had earned such respect from the leaders cutting across the political parties in Telangana with his friendly demeanor towards all.
The Chief Minister said he had never seen Governors of several states on a single stage. "It looks like a parade of Governors. Former-president Ramnath Kovind, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu, Union and state ministers from both the Telugu states attending his book release event reflected the respect he had earned from all hues of the political spectrum.
Revanth Reddy reminisced about how Dattatreya's initiative, Alai Balai, played a significant role in uniting political leaders and providing inspiration during the separate Telangana movement. He also mentioned his collaboration with Kishan Reddy during that time. With a touch of humor and gesturing towards several ministers from his cabinet who were present at the event, he remarked, "It seems like I could hold a cabinet meeting right here." While coming to the event, no one would have felt it was a BJP meeting but an event of a respectable leader.
The Chief Minister said former minister late P Janardhan Reddy and Bandaru Dattatreya stand out among the leaders from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Both were owned by people as they used to respond and tried to solve their problems by calling the officials concerned.
He recalled, how Dattatreya while serving as an MP, used to issue letters for TTD Darshan, railway reservations, telephone connections, and LPG allocations to hardworking party and Sangh workers.
There was a dearth of such leadership in the twin cities, he said and stressed that the leaders from the twin cities should emulate the spirit of Janardhan Reddy and Bandaru Dattatreya.
The Chief Minister promised to emulate the same while interacting with people and resolving their problems. He said he would work for the development of Telangana. Regarding Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, he said, he would "continue to respect' him but also 'question him occasionally."
Earlier, he felicitated the Haryana Governor, the lady Governor, and Vasantha Kumari, the widow of veteran BJP-Jan Sangh leader and former Sikkim Governor V Rama Rao. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Revenue Minister Dr. Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, BC Welfare and Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, Road and Buildings Minister Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, former Congress chief, and MP Keshava Rao were among those who participated in the event.
