Telangana to launch new HYDRA-style task force | Powertrip #154

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter curated exclusively for subscribers of The News Minute and Newslaundry. This week’s edition is by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna.This week, we learnt about CM Revanth Reddy’s new HYDRA-style task force in Telangana, one that the public is sure to be more invested in.Opposition members fear that the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, on removal of Ministers upon detention, will sail through without proper discussion.In Tamil Nadu, a slew of resignations by AIADMK MLAs has triggered panic within the ruling TVK that heavyweights joining the party would overshadow them. And it has also ended up showing that the TVK’s fight against corruption is a mere act when it comes to inducting new blood into the party. Powertrip is a newsletter that senior political reporters of TNM put together every week..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes onlyRevanth’s next HYDRA: Food safety crackdown forceSince it was set up in Telangana, HYDRA has attracted its share of controversy, criticism, and even legal challenges. But if the buzz in government circles is anything to go by, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has little intention of backing down. In fact, the state is preparing to unveil yet another HYDRA-style enforcement body in the coming days, complete with a similarly punchy acronym.This new task force will shift its focus from encroachments to something far closer to the public’s plate: food manufacturing and quality safety.The move comes on the heels of a series of high-profile crackdowns by H-FAST (Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team), a specialised 28-member enforcement unit launched by the Hyderabad City Police in March to tackle food adulteration and unsafe manufacturing practices. Over the past few months, videos released from H-FAST raids, showing everything from unhygienic kitchens to adulterated food products, have repeatedly gone viral on social media, sparking public outrage and renewed scrutiny of the city’s eatery ecosystem.Inspired by the impact of those operations, the proposed task force is expected to bring together officials from multiple departments under a single umbrella. Unlike a purely advisory body, it will also be armed with enforcement powers, allowing it to act directly against violators and tighten oversight of food safety standards across the state.A committee in name only? If the proceedings of the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, 2025 are any indication, the government appears determined to push the legislation through with minimal disruption from the Opposition.The bill, which seeks to ensure that Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, and ministers cannot continue in office after spending 30 consecutive days in custody for offences carrying a punishment of five years or more, was originally referred to a JPC after triggering fierce debate in Parliament. The committee was expected to provide the space for a detailed examination of its legal, constitutional, and political implications.Instead, Opposition members privately complain that the process is increasingly becoming a numbers game.With only three Opposition representatives on the panel, namely Supriya Sule, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, critics argue that meaningful scrutiny is proving difficult. According to those tracking the committee’s proceedings, members from the ruling party and its allies frequently yield their allotted speaking time to the chair, allowing the committee to move through its agenda swiftly while limiting opportunities for extended discussion.The result, Opposition leaders fear, is that many of their concerns may never find adequate reflection in the committee’s final report. Questions about potential misuse of arrest powers, the impact on federal politics, and safeguards against politically motivated prosecutions deserve extensive discussion. Yet there is growing apprehension that such objections will be condensed, sidelined or omitted altogether.As things stand, the committee appears headed towards endorsing the bill with few, if any, substantive changes. For critics, the exercise increasingly resembles consultation without accommodation and scrutiny without consequence.TVK’s fight against corruption falls flat A series of resignations by AIADMK MLAs after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections has left the party worried.So far, six MLAs have resigned and four MLAs have joined TVK. Those who resigned recently include prominent leaders such as former Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and former Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar from Karur.These resignations have triggered a sense of panic within the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, as reports suggest that the MLAs are set to join the party in the presence of TVK president and Chief Minister Joseph Vijay.We hear that a few TVK leaders have expressed their fear and concern that AIADMK heavyweights joining TVK would take away their space. Since leaders like C Vijayabaskar and MR Vijayabaskar are well-established faces in their respective districts, they fear these leaders will overshadow TVK ministers and district secretaries and create their own power centres.On the other hand, TVK also faces questions of morality over inducting C Vijayabaskar, who is one of the main accused in the Gutka scam, into the party. Not only that, Vijayabaskar is under the scanner of central agencies such as the CBI and ED in connection with money laundering allegations. The DVAC has also filed corruption cases against him and conducted searches in the past.If C Vijayabaskar is inducted into the TVK, the party’s claim of fighting corruption falls flat and its poll promise to punish those responsible for plundering the state will be seen as mere election rhetoric.TVK insiders say a cat-and-mouse game is underway between the TVK and the DMK behind the scenes to poach MLAs. 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