Revanth calls for revival of ideology-driven politics, recalls Jaipal Reddy’s contribution to politics 

Emphasising the need to revive ideology-driven politics over the prevailing “politics of management,” Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy called for the promotion of diverse political thought among students in universities. He urged the aspiring politicians to emulate former minister S Jaipal Reddy, who always stood by his principles.

Speaking at the ICFAI & Capital Foundation Society’s S. Jaipal Reddy Memorial Award function held here on Saturday, Mr. Reddy highlighted the latter’s contributions to both State and national politics besides his decisive role in the creation of Telangana State.

“Jaipal Reddy, a towering personality, is the pride of Telangana, next only to former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in many aspects,” he said, congratulating the award recipient, Mohan Guruswamy, an economist and policy analyst from Hyderabad.

Later, he conferred the award on Mr. Guruswamy.

Recalling the key role played by the former Union Minister in the creation of Telangana State, Mr. Reddy noted, “During his student days, Jaipal Reddy opposed the formation of Telangana. But later, he worked tirelessly for the State’s creation. The dream of Telangana would not have been realised without his support and his efforts to convince Sonia Gandhi as well as the Opposition leaders.”

The Chief Minister also recalled the political and administrative reforms initiated by Jaipal Reddy during his tenure as Union Minister.  Expressing concern over the ever-increasing role of money in elections, Mr. Reddy called for stringent measures to curb its influence and safeguard democratic values in the country.

He lamented that activists have disappeared from politics while volunteers have increased, and urged that the legacy of leaders like P.V. Narasimha Rao and Jaipal Reddy must continue to inspire public life.

Referring to Jaipal Reddy’s administrative acumen, he praised the decisions taken by him as Union Petroleum Minister as “impeccable” and commended his role as Information and Broadcasting Minister, stating that his initiatives benefited even Opposition parties.

Mr. Reddy noted that Jaipal Reddy served the people for five decades—from 1969 to 2019—and recalled his efforts to bring electricity to Kalwakurthy when he was its MLA. He also referred to Reddy’s oratory skills, which earned him the Best Parliamentarian Award.

On democratic rights, the Chief Minister said that no MLA had been suspended from the Assembly since he assumed office, and that Dharna Chowk was reinstated immediately after he became Chief Minister.

K Purishotham Reddy, executive president of Capital Foundation, and LS Ganesh, Vice-Chancellor of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, were among present.