The controversy surrounding the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue further escalated on Tuesday as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy severely criticised the BRS and vowed to install the statue of the former Prime Minister at the designated spot, opposite the state Secretariat. He also assured that the statue of Telangana Talli would be installed inside the state Secretariat.

Meanwhile, the Opposition BRS upped the ante and gave a call for dharnas on 22 August at all Mandal headquarters and Assembly segments, demanding that the government implement a crop loan waiver for all farmers without imposing any conditions. It also filed a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate against the Rs 1,000 crore deal between the Telangana government and Swachh Bio, which allegedly belongs to Revanth Reddy’s brother Jadeeshwar.

Addressing an event to mark the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi at Somajiguda, the Chief Minister launched a vociferous attack on the BRS after it criticised the Congress government’s decision to install the statue of the former Prime Minister at a location designated for the statue of Telangana Talli. Lashing out at the BRS working president KT Rama Rao, the Chief Minister said, “KTR wants to put up KCR’s idol. When will his father pass away and when will the statue pass away?”

At times, the Chief Minister’s outburst bordered on unparliamentary language as he challenged the BRS to even try removing the statue of Rajiv Gandhi. “If you touch Rajiv Gandhi’s statue, we will hit you with slippers,” Reddy said, hitting back at KT Rama Rao who had said that they would remove the statue and rename the Hyderabad International Airport upon returning to power.

Accusing the BRS of speaking arrogantly, the Chief Minister wondered why the statue of Telangana Talli was not installed during the BRS’s ten years in power. He promised to ensure the installation of Telangana Talli’s statue within the Secretariat premises by 9 December, the date when his government will complete one year in office. This date also coincides with the birthday of Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

After the Chief Minister’s attack, BRS working president KT Rama Rao retaliated, calling out Reddy for his outburst. “Mark my words, cheap minister Revanth, we will clear out the trash from the surroundings of Dr BR Ambedkar secretariat the very same day we are back in office. Can’t expect a Delhi Ghulam (slave) to ever understand the self respect and pride of Telangana,” Rao wrote on social media platform ‘X’. A Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress then registered a complaint against the BRS leader for calling the Chief Minister a “slave of Delhi.”

It is not only the BRS but also intellectuals who have opposed the installation of Rajiv Gandhi’s statue at the place designated for the idol of Telangana Talli. In a letter to Rahul Gandhi, intellectuals like Prof Haragopal wrote that installing the former PM’s statue instead of Telangana Talli would be an imposition on the people of the state and urged him to shift it elsewhere.