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Journalism of Courage
Telangana Chief Minister-designate A Revanth Reddy finds himself in the centre of a controversy even before being sworn in as the first Congress CM of the state.
Attacks on Revanth are coming from unexpected quarters – Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Prasad’s RJD in Bihar. And over a comment that he made a month ago. Now, the BJP too has latched on to the comments and attacked Revanth.
What did Revanth say?
About a month ago, speaking at the India Today media conclave, the former TDP leader was asked whether he saw his DNA as the Congress DNA. Revanth replied that he saw his DNA as “Telangana DNA” and then went on to talk about then Telangana CM and Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekar Rao, saying: “KCR’s DNA belongs to Bihar. KCR’s caste is Kurmi. Kurmis are from Bihar. They migrated from Bihar to Vizianagaram and from there to Telangana. My DNA is from Telangana… My DNA is Telangana DNA, and it is better than Bihar DNA.” The comment was seen as seeking to project KCR as an “outsider”
Theories of origin
There are conflicting theories about the origin of Velamas. Historical evidence points to their origin in Vizianagaram. Former Maharaja of the erstwhile Vizianagaram kingdom, Venkata Ranga Rao, in his book ‘A Revised and Enlarged Account of the Bobbili Zemindari’ describe Velamas as landowners, who were conferred with the title of Rao.
“The family name of Rao Varu is one of historical importance, but it is not the name of the place where the family members lived. Its origin is this: The Maharaja Pratapa Rudra of Warangal conferred this name of honour on the family of Chevi Reddi alias Bhetala naidu, the founder of the Venkatagiri samstanam, and also ordered that every Velama Dora must have Ravu added at the end of his name,” the erstwhile royal wrote in the book.
However, an undocumented but popular theory is that Velamas were originally Kurmis in Bihar, who migrated to Vizianagaram after Chanakya banished them for supporting the Nanda dynasty.
Why is the remark gaining traction?
The row started when Revanth’s remark resurfaced following Sunday Assembly election results, and the talk that the state Congress chief would be the next Telangana CM. It was also seen against the result being projected as a North-South divide, with the BJP sweeping the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
What are the parties saying?
The BJP, which also bettered its tally in Telangana, increasing its seats from 1 to 8 and doubling its vote share, took on Revanth saying: “Meet… Congress’s CM elect, who thinks KCR is of inferior DNA, presumably because he is a Kurmi from Bihar, who migrated to Telangana… Nitish Kumar, a Kurmi, and part of the I.N.D.I Alliance, should ask the Congress to clarify if they think he is of inferior DNA?,” BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said.
A few other BJP leaders and ministers, including Union minister Anurag Thakur, also slammed Revanth for his comments.
Another INDIA partner, JD(U), “wholeheartedly” condemned Revanth’s statement. “What the Telangana CM-designate said about Bihar DNA is condemnable. Such statements do not behove a CM. It shows the non-serious nature of his politics,” JD(U) chief national spokesperson K C Tyagi.
INDIA member RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari also jumped in, saying everyone was aware of the capabilities of Bihar. “Comparing any state with another in terms of showing supremacy is not good,” he added.
Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress’s ally in Maharashtra, distanced herself from the comments, saying things happening in other states do not give allies a reason to target each other.
What is the row’s significance for Telangana?
Since the agitations for a separate Telangana started in the 1960s, the “insider-outsider” phenomenon has prevailed in the state. As bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh became imminent after 2009, underlying fear about their future among a significant number of “Andhra settlers” in Telangana came to the fore.
Velamas vs Reddys?
Both Velamas (the caste to which KCR belongs) and Reddys (Revanth’s caste) have been traditional landowners. Both the castes are numerically insignificant in the state with Reddys making up about 5 per cent of the population and Velamas making up around two. However, both are politically influential.
While the Reddys have been traditional supporters of the Congress for a long time, the focus on Velamas increased post the formation of the state as KCR emerged as the face of the Telangana agitation.
Revanth’s “DNA comment” can be perceived as an attempt to establish the Reddys as a more dominant political force than the Velamas as the two communities “jostle” for political space.
