Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Dr Nishikant Dubey on Friday called Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy an 'old friend' and said the two leaders had largely contributed to the Sangh Parivar and its expansion, while adding that his association with the Congress leader goes long way back.
However, the BJP MP from Jharkhand's Godda constituency claimed that Reddy is under distress, and he is being forced to do what Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is asking him to do. When asked about Reddy's 'criminal waste' remark, Dubey said the Telangana chief minister has a sound mindset and is not at fault.
"The Chief Minister of Telangana is a good man; he is a very old friend of mine. We both contributed significantly to the expansion of the Sangh Parivar and the Vidyarthi Parishad," Dubey told reporters outside the Parliament complex earlier in the day.
"Basically, since he comes from the Vidyarthi Parishad, his mindset is sound. However, he has to implement whatever Rahul Gandhi says. He is distressed, and he speaks according to Rahul Gandhi’s instructions, saying exactly what Rahul Gandhi tells him to say. Revanth Reddy is not at fault here," he added.
Reddy's remarks cause row in Telangana
Dubey was responding to Reddy's recent remarks on employability of engineering graduates, which caused a major row in the Telangana politics. Reddy, who was speaking at an event in state capital Hyderabad on Thursday, said he was concerned over quality of education and job readiness among engineering graduates, referring to them as 'criminal waste'.
"You (teachers) give a plain paper to them (engineering graduates) and tell them to write a job application. Criminal waste. He won't apply for a small job because he studied engineering. He does not learn skills," Reddy was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
The chief minister's remarks caused a row in Telangana, with the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the BJP cornering Reddy. Questioning Reddy, BRS working president KT Rama Rao asked if the chief minister has ever appeared for an interview or gave a competitive examination.
State BJP leaders, including NV Subhash, also hit out at Reddy and said he has committed a 'grave sin'. However, the Congress has defended Reddy and said he is a 'self-made leader' who became the chief minister after serving as an MLA, MLC and MP.
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