Hyderabad: Labelled a “flight-mode” leader for undertaking ‘40 trips to New Delhi’ since assuming office in December 2023, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy is facing a fresh onslaught of attacks with the Opposition branding him a ‘remote control’ and ‘rubber stamp’. The slew was triggered by All India Congress Committee (AICC) Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan holding talks with ministers in the state secretariat.
In Hyderabad on an unscheduled visit from Saturday until Monday, Natarajan attended two back-to-back meetings of the Group of Ministers (GoM) formed to deal with the Kancha Gachibowli-HCU land auction issue. The Congress government in Telangana is under fire over its decision to level and auction 400 acres of disputed land in Kancha Gachibowli, abutting the Hyderabad Central University (HCU).
A former Member of Parliament, Natarajan attended the first GoM meeting Saturday and the second Monday. Speaking to ThePrint, she responded to the criticism by asking: “What is wrong in participating in GoM’s public consultations to find a solution?”
Union Minster of State (MoS) Bandi Sanjay Kumar had wondered how a Congress leader “could conduct review meetings with members of the state cabinet at the secretariat”.
“AICC in-charge and CWC member now act like de facto ministers—interfering in every state issue, even attending official meetings on HCU affairs. How did they become ‘special invitees’ in a matter between HCU and the state government?” Bandi wrote in a post on X.
Rahul Gandhi ironically talks of saving the Constitution but sends AICC agents to remote-control Telangana.
AICC Incharge and CWC member now act like de facto ministers – interfering in every state issue, even attending official meetings on HCU affairs.
How did they become…
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) April 7, 2025
The part about ‘CWC member’ appears to be a reference to CWC special invitee Vamshi Chand Reddy, a former MLA, who was also reportedly part of the GoM consultations.
Bandi, the BJP MP from Karimnagar, termed the supposed interference by Congress functionaries in matters of state administration as a “total collapse of constitution boundaries” and an extension of “Delhi durbar”.
BJP’s floor leader in the assembly Alleti Maheshwar Reddy alleged Natarajan was acting as de facto CM, holding meetings at the secretariat. He also reportedly said the incident exposes CM Revanth Reddy’s helplessness and claimed Rahul Gandhi was managing the government in Telangana through Natarajan. Speaking to reporters in his constituency Nirmal, the BJP MLA recalled that previous AICC state in-charges Digvijaya Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Veerappa Moily and Vayalar Ravi never intervened in administrative affairs.
In the past too, Congress chief ministers—including popular and assertive leaders such as Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy—have faced criticism over frequent trips to Delhi to consult the party’s central leadership on important issues.
Besides the BJP, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) too claimed the opportunity to attack Revanth Reddy. BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said the fates of the two national parties—the Congress and BJP—are controlled from Delhi.
“We warned that handing Telangana to national parties would mean remote control from Delhi,” the former minister said, talking to reporters Tuesday. KTR took aim at the Congress’s inability to expand its cabinet and BJP’s failure to secure additional funds for Telangana despite its MPs in the state.
BRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla had earlier branded Revanth Reddy a “flight-mode” chief minister.
AICC Telangana in-charge Natarajan’s unscheduled visit to Hyderabad to hold meetings with various stakeholders over the Kancha Gachibowli-HCU land auction issue is being seen as Rahul Gandhi’s direct intervention.
Following a Supreme Court order halting tree felling on the disputed land Thursday, CM Reddy had announced formation of a GoM to hold consultations with the joint action committee (JAC) formed by the HCU as well as the civil society and other stakeholders to “resolve and give a way forward in Kanche Gachibowli land issue”.
Also Read: Hyderabad university land row: NSUI members oppose own Congress govt, condemn CM Revanth’s remarks
‘Went to secretariat, didn’t call ministers home’
When ThePrint sought a comment on the criticism of her involvement, Natarajan responded by asking what was wrong with her, as a concerned citizen, seeking time from the GoM to express her views on issues concerning the public and environmental issues.
“The BJP leaders, who need RSS approval to have even a cup of chai, will say anything,” she remarked. “I went to the secretariat, seeking time, along with others, to represent various views on the Kancha Gachibowli lands issue; I did not call the ministers to my residence, did I?”
“The GoMs mandate is consultation with all stakeholders, concerned citizens, groups to arrive at an acceptable way out. So, why should I not go meet the committee formed by a government adhering to democratic principles,” Natarajan told ThePrint over the phone.
Adding, “Even in MP, where I am from, I have been participating in such government hearings over various public issues, during the Congress rule earlier and later BJP too.”
The GoM comprises Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, IT and industries minister Sridhar Babu, and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, among others.
One of the ministers in the GoM also reportedly took umbrage at Natarajan’s overt involvement, while some Congress leaders are said to have expressed the opinion that such interference would hand the destructive Telugu-Telangana pride ammunition to the opposition parties to again stoke sentiments against Delhi authority.
ThePrint also reached Vamshi for comment over phone calls but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Bandi who in another post alleged that “Telangana is witnessing rubber stamp governance and that not a single file moves without AICC’s nod,” also objected to state Congress chief Mahesh Kumar Goud’s statement that AICC will take a final call on Revanth’s cabinet expansion.
“Is it not CM’s prerogative? What is AICC’s role here? Isn’t this proof how Telangana is being ruled from 10 Janpath and Gandhi Bhavan?” asked Bandi while speaking to reporters Sunday, after BJP’s foundation day celebrations in Karimnagar. “AICC in-charge conducting meetings at Secretariat and TPCC chief saying AICC’s will be the final decision on cabinet expansion are classic examples of failed governance in the state,” he added.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Hit by Trump tariffs, AP’s aqua farmers warn of crop holiday. Naidu govt scrambles to find solutions
