Hitting back at BRS over its criticism of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Hitler remark, Telangana Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu on Monday said the CM was only emphasising decisiveness and speed of action while talking about HYDRAA and not referring to the Nazi dictator’s violent ideology.
The chief minister meant that law would be strictly enforced against land encroachers, Sridhar Babu told reporters here.
He said the BRS is trying to defame the Congress government by harping on the word ‘Hitler’.
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“As HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency) is creating fear in the minds of encroachers, some are shedding crocodile tears. KTR (BRS leader K T Rama Rao) is talking about Gandhi ji and Ambedkar. This is the joke of the century,” he told reporters here.
During the previous BRS regime, the then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (also known as KCR) never visited the Secretariat, and his camp office-cum-official residence was not accessible to common people, he said.
Recalling the allegations of phone-tapping during the BRS regime, Sridhar Babu asked if it was democratic functioning.
Sridhar Babu also played a video of KCR related to his tenure as CM.
“I wanted to be Hitler. I don’t feel shame. We will behave not just like Hitler but his grandfather if anyone uses government money indiscriminately,” the former chief minister is heard saying in the video.
Citing the video, the minister asked whether KCR implemented the ideology of Hitler when he was the chief minister.
Observing that HYDRAA is functioning within the ambit of law, the minister said the agency is securing lakes, other water bodies and lands from the clutches of encroachers.
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Citizens living near such water bodies are hailing HYDRAA’s actions, he said, wondering why KTR should feel bad if lands are freed from encroachments, he said.
Revanth Reddy’s remarks that he drew inspiration from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler while naming HYDRAA have sparked a political row with the BRS and the BJP, strongly criticising him.
Speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Saturday, Revanth Reddy had said he decided to establish HYDRAA after observing widespread encroachments of lakes and waterbodies.
“I can understand that poor people encroach on lakes and nalas. Nowadays, rich people are encroaching on waterbodies because of their farmhouses and connecting their drainage to the waterbodies. I have noticed all those issues. Then I decided to establish one task force–HYDRAA”.
He had further said, “Hydra was Hitler’s favourite word. His core team, which can assassinate anyone, was called Hydra. So, I have taken inspiration from Hitler, and I have named it HYDRAA”.
K T Rama Rao launched a scathing attack on Revanth Reddy over his remarks, alleging that the chief minister’s comments have exposed his “authoritarian and fascist” mindset before the entire nation.