Kerala oppn leader Pinarayi Vijayan slams Telengana CM’s Hitler remark

Thiruvananthapuram: CPM has strongly criticised Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s remarks allegedly linking the HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency) to dictator Adolf Hitler, terming them “shocking” and “incompatible with democratic values”.

In a social media post, opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that Reddy had publicly stated that the name HYDRAA, the agency established to address encroachments and illegal constructions in Telangana, was inspired by Hitler. Vijayan claimed that the Telangana CM had referred to ‘Hydra’ as one of Hitler’s favourite terms and cited it as an inspiration for creating a mechanism capable of taking stringent action against violators. Such remarks, he said, were unacceptable from the head of a democratically elected govt.

The former CM alleged that the comments could not be dismissed as a mere slip of the tongue and reflected a deeper political outlook. He argued that the remarks raised questions about the Congress party’s commitment to democratic values and echoed what he described as the party’s historical record during the Emergency period.

He also linked the controversy to Reddy’s earlier association with organisations aligned with the Sangh Parivar, alleging that such views continued to find acceptance within the Congress. The episode underscored the Left’s long-standing contention that the Congress would be unable to effectively counter the ideological positions of BJP and RSS, he added.

Calling on citizens to remain vigilant, Vijayan said the controversy highlighted the dangers of normalising authoritarian and fascist references in public discourse.