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Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha demanded the arrest of fellow MLC Chintapandu Naveen Kumar, popularly known as Teenmaar Mallanna, for making derogatory and sexist remarks against her. Kavitha also urged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to intervene, warning that silence on the issue would be seen as implicit support for misogyny in politics.
Kavitha’s statement came hours after members of her cultural organisation, Telangana Jagruthi, vandalised Mallanna’s office in Medipally. According to employees of Q News, the YouTube channel run by Mallanna, nearly 50 people stormed the office, damaged furniture, shattered windows, and allegedly assaulted Mallanna. One employee, Sai, was reportedly injured in the attack.
As the situation intensified, Mallanna’s official gunman fired five rounds into the air to disperse the mob. Kavitha has since called for a probe into whether the gunman acted on Mallanna’s orders or his own discretion, insisting that the Jagruthi members had only intended a “democratic protest.”
The controversy stems from remarks Mallanna made on Saturday, July 13, in response to Kavitha’s celebration of the Telangana Cabinet’s decision to increase BC reservations in local bodies to 42%. “Why is Kavitha celebrating this? Is she a BC?” Mallanna asked, before going on to make lewd insinuations, asking whether her ties to BC communities were of a “plate” (dining) or “bed” (sexual) nature.
Condemning the comments, Kavitha called them a violation of her dignity. “This is a breach of my modesty. I have filed a complaint with the Legislative Council Chairman, asking for Mallanna to be referred to the Ethics Committee and suspended using discretionary powers,” she said.
She also reminded the public of CM Revanth Reddy’s earlier outrage when disparaging comments were made against his wife and daughter on a YouTube channel. “I am also a daughter of Telangana. If you don’t arrest Mallanna, people will assume he made those remarks with your approval,” she warned.
Kavitha criticised Mallanna’s continued defence of his words, even after the attack on his office. “Just because someone is from a BC community does not give them a free pass to insult others,” she said. She added that Telangana Jagruthi’s fight for BC reservation was one of many causes they have taken up, and not something he needed to question.
In response to criticism, Mallanna doubled down on his comments, saying, “When I said ‘relationship of bedding,’ I meant marital relations. Maybe it means something else in their circles, but this is the meaning in our language.”
A polarising figure, Mallanna was elected MLC in June 2024 on a Congress ticket but was suspended from the party in March 2025 for anti-party activities. Before joining Congress, he had stints as an independent and briefly as a BJP member. Known for his aggressive language and satirical political commentary, he has 38 cases against him, many filed during the BRS regime for targeting KCR and his family.
Kavitha warned that if such conduct goes unchecked, it will discourage women from entering politics. “This is no longer just about me. It is about the kind of politics we want in Telangana.”
With IANS inputs
