In an unexpected turn of events, Telangana Labour Minister M Malla Reddy was chased away by some attendees at a mass gathering organised by the Telangana Reddy Joint Action Committee (TR-JAC), a dominant caste political platform, allegedly for praising the TRS government and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Malla Reddy escaped unhurt even though his convoy was attacked by the participants of the event, which took place at Ghatkesar on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Some angry attendees were seen hurling footwear, stones, chairs and water bottles at the convoy of the minister, who had to leave the meeting abruptly. Malla Reddy’s Personal Security Officers (PSO) and the special police deployed at the meeting struggled to escort the minister to safety and prevent people from chasing after his vehicle. The minister faced the ire of the participants after he started to praise CM KCR for the various development and welfare programmes taken up in the state.
A number of attendees raised objections and shouted slogans, some even rushing towards the dais, when Malla Reddy first began to praise the government in his speech. A Congress leader also asked the minister to stop praising the government and instead speak on what it intended to do for the betterment of the community. Malla Reddy stopped his speech in the wake of the ruckus, but later resumed it following an appeal by the organisers.
Every single one out of the 12,700 villages in the state had a Reddy presence, the minister stated in his speech. “The TRS government has changed the face of the state’s villages by ensuring basic facilities such as a dumping yard, graveyards and nurseries, besides setting up dedicated sanitation vehicles to villages, and other welfare schemes,” he went on to add. However, his continued praise of the government did not sit well with some participants, who turned angry and raised more slogans against him. They also refused to heed any appeals to maintain calm.
Amid the chaos, one representative of the Reddy JAC gave an ultimatum that a Reddy Corporation, meant exclusively for the development of people from the Reddy caste, had to be set up at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore — a poll promise made by KCR. Malla Reddy replied that the government would accord a Corporation for the Reddys as well, just like the welfare schemes it has implemented for other sections. He then further lauded the government and asserted that it is the “TRS government that will establish the Reddy corporation”, further infuriating the attendees of the meeting, which saw the presence of Reddys from various political parties.
Sensing trouble, the minister's security personnel and the police immediately surrounded him and escorted him off the dais. As his convoy was leaving the venue, several people started to throw footwear, stones and even chairs at the vehicles.
Malla Reddy later blamed Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Revanth Reddy for the attack, alleging that the latter had used his supporters to assault him because he had been questioning Revanth Reddy's misdeeds. “I am not afraid of such attacks,” he said. Last week, Revanth Reddy had made comments glorifying the Reddys as the ‘ruling caste’ in another Reddy caste congregation. He had said that whoever neglected the Reddys would go down in history like the Kakatiyas.
The minister said that he was clarifying how TRS remained committed to fulfilling its promise of constituting the Reddy Commission when he was interrupted at the meeting. Justice will be done to the Reddys, he said.
Reddys are a dominant caste group historically known for holding large units of lands and dominating the political spectrum in the Telugu speaking states.
(With inputs from IANS)