The new Congress government in Telangana, under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, seems to be responding in kind to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Recently, the Congress government launched a week-long initiative called “Praja Palana,” commencing December 28. During this period, they’ll be receiving applications from the public about the implementation of six promised guarantees made by the party before the elections. Advertisements regarding this initiative were published in major newspapers, except for Namaste Telangana and Telangana Today, known for their criticism of the Revanth Reddy government.
These newspapers have been consistently attacking the current administration since its inception, focusing on the BRS and the previous KCR government. Initially, they received government advertisements, including on Revanth Reddy’s swearing-in day. However, as their criticism escalated, the Congress government decided to withhold advertisements from them.
This tactic echoes the approach of the previous KCR-led government, which also denied advertisements to critical newspapers like Andhra Jyothy and its affiliate ABN-Andhra Jyothy, along with Velugu and V6 television channels after their chairman disassociated from the BRS and joined opposition parties.
KCR had openly stated that newspapers reporting negatively about his government wouldn’t receive any benefits, including land allocations. Now, the Congress government seems to be retaliating against BRS leaders by mirroring this approach. There’s a possibility that reporters from Namaste Telangana might not receive housing plots in the future as a retaliatory measure.
This tit-for-tat strategy between the Congress government and BRS indicates a continuation of the previous government’s policies regarding media engagement and response against critical reporting. It remains to be seen how this dynamic evolves and its implications in the political landscape of Telangana.
