Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy issued a stern warning against individuals allegedly posing as journalists and posting offensive content about public representatives, stating that they would be stripped and paraded in public.
Referring to the recent arrest of two female journalists for allegedly posting derogatory content about him and his family, Revanth Reddy lost his cool on the floor of the Assembly on Saturday, March 15.
The police claimed the journalists were involved in spreading “defamatory content and conspiracy” against the CM. However, the Editors Guild of India condemned the arrests. It is believed that the action followed the publication of a video on one journalist’s YouTube channel, in which a farmer criticised Revanth Reddy.
Addressing the issue, Reddy stated that he would not remain silent while a “venomous culture” of spreading derogatory content under the guise of journalism was allowed to thrive on social media.
He said that paid-artists were being used, and their criticism was being recorded in party offices, and in the recent case, women were posting those derogatory recordings online.
“In 2014, when BRS MLAs took oath, just because TV9 and ABN made a small sarcastic new item the then government banned them for a year, put Ravi Prakash and Manda Krishna Madiga in jail. The female journalist who got arrested now, had gone to jail before, in an SC/ST atrocities case,” he noted.
Without naming BRS working president KT Rama Rao, who condemned the female journalist’s arrest, Revanth Reddy questioned the former how he would have felt if similar abuses were hurled against his family members.
“Because we are in public life we are being patient. Our blood is boiling. What is that language? When they are abusing family members in such a way, how are you able to enjoy it? Don’t you have wife and children, and parents,” he questioned KTR.
“If my wife or daughter are being criticised in vulgar language I feel hurt, but don’t you feel bad when someone is abusing a woman,” he asked.
“Don’t think I’m silent because I am the chief minister. I will strip you and have you thrashed. There are lakhs who will take to the streets to beat you up if they feel that I’m irritated. But I am being tolerant because of my position. I have respect towards the constitution the reason why I’m being silent. Don’t treat this as my weakness. Whatever I do, I will do within the ambit of the law,” he asserted.
Asking KCR to control his son, Revanth cautioned that if the former felt that by humiliating him he could achieve some political mileage, he was mistaken.
“If they cross their limits and utter something wrong, they will face the consequences. It is not how long a person holds a position. I only consider how the person has served in that position. I won’t stoop the level where I’ll lose my self-esteem. You may think you’ll get bail after saying such things, but I won’t leave anyone. If you democratically express your dissent we are here to listen. But we are not going to tolerate this anymore,” he warned.
Reddy added that he was open to discussions with journalist unions and, if necessary, would introduce legislation to regulate such offensive news content. He directed the IT and industries minister Sridhar Babu to engage with journalist unions and compile a list of recognised journalists.
“I’m asking the journalists unions to give a list. Give the definition of a journalist, and you give the line that we need to take while dealing with such issues. Should those journalists recognised by I&PR and DAVP be treated as journalists, or anybody who opens some tube and spreads offensive content,” he asked journalists’ unions.
“You decide how a journalist in the list needs to be punished for such violation. But if anybody out of that list commits such a crime we will treat them as criminals. We know how to deal with criminals like them. If they come masked we will unmask them, strip them and beat them,” he warned.
His remarks come amid the arrest of journalists who criticised him, raising concerns over press freedom in the state.
Challenges KCR to debate on Krishna water dispute
Revanth Reddy challenged BRS chief and former Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to a debate in the Assembly over Krishna water sharing with Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that KCR had committed a permanent injustice to Telangana by allowing Andhra Pradesh to siphon Krishna waters to the Rayalaseema region.
During his speech in the special Assembly session on Saturday, 15 March, Revanth Reddy, along with Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, claimed they had sufficient data to prove these allegations. He vowed to apologise if proven wrong.
He accused KCR of surrendering Telangana’s interests in Krishna river water sharing and permitting Andhra Pradesh to take a larger share by submitting to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) in 2021-22 that Telangana’s claim was only 299 TMCFT out of the total 899 TMCFT allocated to undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Slams KCR’s absence, questions BRS criticism of governor
Revanth Reddy criticised KCR’s absence in the Assembly, stating that since the formation of the new government, he had attended only two sessions while drawing a salary of Rs 57,84,124 as an MLA.
He also took a shot at BRS MLAs for criticising the governor’s speech, asserting that it reflected the government’s achievements. “If they wish to give suggestions, they are welcome to do so, but not by criticising the governor,” he remarked.
BRS MLAs walk-out before Revanth’s speech
The BRS MLAs staged a walk-out from the assembly just before the chief minister’s speech, accusing him of wishing death for KCR. The issue was with Revanth Reddy’s statement that BRS which was on a stretcher after the assembly elections, has gone to mortuary after the Lok Sabha elections.
“What will I achieve by wishing KCR’s death? I wish him 100 years of healthy life. It at all KCR is having any threat, it is from his family members, the reason why he is living separately under police security,” Revanth Reddy said.
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