Revanth Reddy at Express Adda: PM Modi out to finish Opposition states, diverting investments to Gujarat

“From 2004 to 2014, Sonia Gandhi was the chairperson of the UPA, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi advertised the Gujarat model across the world in those ten years. The then Union government gave so much support to Modiji… every state, whether it was ruled by the Opposition or not… was given support for development… be it permissions, budgetary support… That is why there could be a Gujarat model,” he said.

“He is the Prime Minister of India, but Modiji is behaving like the PM of Gujarat,” Reddy said at the Express Adda in New Delhi Tuesday. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)

“But today… Narendra Modi, being a Prime Minister, is simply ignoring Opposition states. He is trying his level best to finish all Opposition states. Why? That is the Gujarat model,” he said.

“If some investment comes to Telengana… if an investor gets ready to invest in Telangana… the PMO tells them to go to Gujarat. Semiconductor… incentives kiske liye diya hua hai… He is the Prime Minister of India, but Modiji is behaving like the PM of Gujarat. Because for him every investment and every approach… is Gujarat. We were in power for ten years… but did not create any problem for Gujarat,” Reddy said.

Modi, he said, talks about making India a five-trillion economy but without taking the Opposition states with him. “How will he reach a five-trillion economy without Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu? … How will he reach (the target) without Maharashtra? It is the financial capital of India… Seventeen major investments… from Maharashtra… have moved to Gujarat… This Gujarat model is dangerous for the country,” he said.

Reddy, who was in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Liz Mathew, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express, underlined the “need for a brand” to “overcome local factors” during elections.

He said the Congress should rally behind the Nehru-Gandhi family, calling it a “Modiji Parivar vs Gandhiji Parivar” fight. He also said the Congress should “change its format” from “Test match” to “20-20”. He said the party which has a “human touch” does not look at politics in a “transactional way”.

Reddy, who was in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Liz Mathew, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express, underlined the “need for a brand” to “overcome local factors” during elections. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)

Reddy said the Congress had brought out the “hidden agenda of Modiji” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After the Haryana elections, the Prime Minister, he said, did not review development, but reviewed the next election. “Meaning, election to election. Election to election, how long will you keep people in this cycle of divisive politics?” he asked.

Referring to Modi’s jibe that Telangana has become an “ATM” for the Gandhi family, he said, “It is not any karyakarta who said that the Gandhi family has made Telangana an ATM. It is the Prime Minister himself. If Gandhi parivar needs money, why did they sacrifice their lives for the country?”

“The Gandhi family has a national approach and not one of power politics. To bring the country together, Rahul Gandhi has been working tirelessly for more than a decade,” he said.

“The Congress came to power several times after the demise of Rajiv Gandhi. But which member of the Gandhi family assumed any role, be it the President of India, Prime Minister or Union Minister,” he asked. “The legacy of the Gandhi family is one of sacrifice for the country… They have not calculated loss and profit,” he said.

Reddy said he asked for votes “in the name of Sonia Gandhi” in Telangana, and it worked. If the party had asked for votes in Rahul’s name in Haryana, the results would have been different, he said.

“To overcome local factors in elections, there is the need for a brand. It is Modiji Parivar vs Gandhiji Parivar,” Reddy said, underlining that it is a fight between the Sangh Parivar and Mahatma Gandhi’s Parivar.

“Winning might be possible with divisive politics but taking the country forward is difficult with this kind of politics,” he said. There will be an “expiry date” for divisive politics, he said.

Reddy also said that the Telangana model of development, which provides equal opportunities to all, is a counter to the Gujarat model.