Soon after Anumula Revanth Reddy was sworn in as the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana on Thursday, in front of a crowd of thousands at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in the State’s capital, he vowed to revive a tradition of inviting the public into the halls of power to present their grievances directly to him. He immediately signed his first file, to implement the six welfare ‘guarantees’ that headlined the Congress’ poll manifesto.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office to Mr. Reddy, who steered his party to victory in India’s youngest State, in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra, as well as the Congress CMs of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.
The outgoing Congress Legislative Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikaramarka took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister, along with ten others chosen to be part of the Council of Ministers: C. Damodar Rajnarismha, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, D. Sridhar Babu, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha, Dansari Anasuya ‘Seethakka’, Tummala Nageswara Rao, Jupally Krishna Rao, and Uttam Kumar Reddy.
‘Gates are open’
As soon as he took charge, the new CM signed two files: the first to implement the six welfare measures promised by the Congress during its campaign, and the second to provide a job to T. Rajini, a person with a disability to whom Mr. Reddy had promised employment while on the campaign trail.
“The barricades that distanced the Telangana society and people from the government are being demolished now and the gates are open for the people to come with their grievances,” he said in his first address after taking oath. He invited the people of the State to come to the newly renamed Jyothirao Phule Praja Bhavan, the CM’s official residence and office, at 10 a.m. on Friday for the Praja Darbar or public court. This custom was practised by several Congress Chief Ministers of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh to meet people and hear their grievances directly.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during the swearing-in ceremony of Revanth Reddy as Chief Minister of Telangana, in Hyderabad, on December 7, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
‘True liberation day’
In an emotional speech, Mr. Reddy said that Telangana came into existence a decade ago through the sweat and blood, the struggles and sacrifices of the State’s people. Claiming that people had silently borne their “10-year suppression” silently, Mr. Reddy declared Thursday as the State’s “true liberation day”. Stating that the people’s government had now been established, the CM promised that this would lead to equitable development across Telangana from Adilabad to Alampur and Khammam to Kodangal.
The State has been ruled by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, earlier known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, since its birth in 2014.
Mr. Reddy also thanked Congress workers who had “endured repression” for the last 10 years, promising that their sacrifices would not go to waste and that he would take care of them as an elder brother. “We are not the rulers but servants,” he said, also thanking Ms. Sonia Gandhi for delivering the State against all odds.
Massive turnout
Thousands of Congress workers and supporters turned up to occupy every seat at the LB stadium, while thousands more waited outside. There was a huge uproar as the CM began taking oath by declaring his name in Telugu, saying: “Revanth Reddy ane nenu”. Ms. Anasuya, better known as Seethakka, also received a tremendous response as she rose to take oath.
After taking oath, Konda Surekha touched the feet of Ms. Gandhi, who then rose and hugged her. Mr. Gandhi and Karnataka CM were seen shaking hands with each of the newly sworn-in Ministers, while Ms. Vadra greeted them with folded hands.
The new CM’s wife Geetha, his daughter Nymisha, and grandson Riyansh were also on stage with other family members, and were seen interacting with Ms. Gandhi after the ceremony.
