5 min readAug 21, 2026 12:25 PM IST
First published on: Aug 21, 2026 at 12:25 PM IST
“Congress means Muslims, Muslims means Congress.” This is what Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said in the run-up to the November 11, 2025, Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll, apparently to “cater to the nearly 30 per cent Muslim electorate”.
With the by-election comfortably in the Congress’s kitty, Revanth, six months later, now says that children from minority communities are “not capable of remembering what they study but possess the ability to dismantle and reassemble Rafales”.
Apart from lowering the dignity of the constitutional post he holds, Revanth’s remarks suggest that minorities, especially Muslims — who also happen to be supporters of his party — are nothing more than an “election commodity” for the CM.
Such remarks risk not only alienating the community from Revanth personally and from the Congress, but also diminishing the contributions of illustrious Muslims from the region, such as Maulvi Alauddin, who led an attack on the British Residency during the 1857 rebellion; two-time world boxing champion Nikhat Zareen; and Hyderabad’s very own Mohammad Siraj, an international cricketer who also serves as a DSP in the Telangana Police.
Even if one chooses to dismiss the latest remarks as a stray comment and give Revanth the benefit of the doubt, his record does not make for good reading. At different points in the recent past, he has managed to antagonise various sections of people with his remarks.
As the dust from the Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar — which Revanth’s boss Rahul Gandhi vocally supported — had barely begun to settle, the Telangana CM referred to engineering graduates as a “criminal waste”. Not long before that, when asked about protesting police aspirants in Telangana, he responded: “Ask them to go drink endrin (a pesticide) and die.”
Revanth’s remarks are also at odds with those of his party’s central leadership, which has lent its support to protesters at Jantar Mantar as well as Jharkhand. Given that Revanth frequently invokes Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, the contrast makes for poor optics and, if anything, puts the Congress top brass in an embarrassing position.
Beyond the optics, Revanth risks putting his own position within the party under strain. A former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader who joined the Congress only in 2017 and quickly rose through its ranks, Revanth has a host of detractors within the party who are waiting for an opportune moment to “settle scores” with him.
His controversial remarks have only amplified murmurs of discontent that had, until now, largely remained confined to private conversations. Two stark examples are Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, brother of minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, and Konda Sushmita, daughter of minister Konda Surekha.
Rajagopal has repeatedly questioned the CM on organisational and governance issues, while Sushmita recently lashed out at him for “promoting his family”. She has also threatened to “expose his corruption”.
Though there is no immediate threat to Revanth’s position, given his proximity to the Gandhis and the Congress top brass, his words are providing the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with multiple opportunities to stage a comeback after its 2023 Assembly loss and poor performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Despite former CM K Chandrashekar Rao remaining relatively absent from public life, BRS leaders such as former ministers K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao appear increasingly energised in taking on the Congress. The BRS’s social media machinery has had plenty of ammunition over the past four months, thanks to Revanth’s repeated outbursts.
Revanth’s political oratory — widely seen as one of the factors behind the Congress’s resurgence in Telangana in 2023 — has almost always been controversial and, at times, bordering on outrageous. As a TDP leader, he frequently appeared on television debates, where he abused callers who wanted to speak to him. Days before his swearing-in ceremony, as CM-elect, he triggered a controversy by claiming that he had “Telangana DNA” while BRS leaders had “DNA from Bihar”.
By continuing to make such remarks even after taking the oath, Revanth appears to have forgotten that the CM’s chair brings not only power but also enormous accountability and responsibility.
If left unchecked, his sharp tongue — once credited with helping the Congress’s comeback in Telangana — could eventually become a significant liability for the party.
The writer is assistant editor, The Indian Express. pushkar.banakar@expressindia.com
Revanth appears to have forgotten that the CM’s chair brings not only power but also enormous accountability and responsibility 
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