Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president T Jagga Reddy claimed here on Monday that “there’s a rumour going around that Union Minister G Kishan Reddy is simply repeating what KTR says.”

At a press conference in Gandhi Bhavan, he said, “The death of 17 people at Gulzar House is heartbreaking. The moment he heard about the accident, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy alerted the officials. If the CM himself had gone to the spot it would have hindered the rescue work, so he sent ministers and senior officers instead”.

Reddy further said: “It is tragic that 17 people lost their lives at Gulzar House. As soon as he got the news, CM alerted the GHMC officials”.

The CM felt that his presence onsite would only disturb the officials, so he activated the ministers and officers and oversaw the relief efforts from there. Despite everything, lives were lost. Someone close to me also lost family members in the accident, he added.

He stated: “Kishan Reddy came too—well, that’s his responsibility, so he came. He is a Union Minister; if necessary, he can talk to the Prime Minister, or at least call the CM directly and give suggestions. Instead of doing what he should, he chose to fling mud”.

He forgot he is a Union Minister and spoke like a local streetcorner leader. Kishan Reddy isn’t usually like that, but on Sunday he shouldn’t have behaved that way. I’ve had a good acquaintance with him myself. Kishan Reddy should stop criticising and learn how to serve, Jagga Reddy said.

The Congress leader further said: “A friend told me, ‘KTR must have briefed Kishan Reddy and sent him. I wondered: he comes if Modi tells him, but would he also come if KTR tells him? Seventeen deaths are no small matter. Revanth, too, would have wanted to save all 17 lives. In Gujarat, a bridge collapsed and 140 people died—did Rahul Gandhi say anything to Modi then? Yet here, Kishan Reddy came and slung mud”.

“Kishan Reddy’s ‘Bharat Mata Yatra’ was a good yatra. If there are issues, he should have called the CM and pointed them out,” he said.

“The Cherlapalli railway station was inaugurated online by Modi; when the first rains came, the tin sheets flew off—did CM Revanth criticise Modi? He acted responsibly as CM, but you are acting irresponsibly. All Kishan Reddy seems keen on is playing politics – that mindset is wrong. There’s a buzz that KTR tells him what to say and Kishan Reddy repeats it. I say to Kishan Reddy: Stop the criticism and learn to serve.”