Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday hit back sharply at his Telangana counterpart, Revanth Reddy, saying his state has nothing to learn from a chief minister whose government cannot even manage to pay salaries and pensions on time.
File Photo: IANS
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday hit back sharply at his Telangana counterpart, Revanth Reddy, saying his state has nothing to learn from a chief minister whose government cannot even manage to pay salaries and pensions on time.
Calling Reddy’s recent Kerala election campaign comments insulting and totally baseless, CM Vijayan highlighted the irony of a leader, who runs bulldozers over homes of the poor, attempting to lecture Kerala on social progress. He accused him of acting as a “mouthpiece” for those trying to sabotage Kerala’s development model.
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Terming Reddy’s comments during the campaign as “disparaging” and “entirely baseless”, CM Vijayan said in a post on X that the “era of closed treasuries and pending welfare pensions under the UDF is a thing of the past.” Kerala’s governance model remains focused on welfare and inclusivity.
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Vijayan further highlighted the irony of the Telangana government sending a team to Kerala to study its land record digitalization while Reddy publicly ridiculed the state’s administration. “On September 16, 2025, a high-level team of revenue and survey officials from Telangana had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram to study Kerala’s flagship project, ‘Ente Bhoomi’, a digital land registry system. How much political hypocrisy is it for the Chief Minister of the same government to belittle the interventions of Kerala, which wants to make its own government a model,” he wondered.
He said an average Malayali lives 5 to 7 years longer than the average Indian due to superior healthcare systems. “Telangana has an infant mortality rate that is almost four times higher. Due to its strong healthcare system, a Malayali lives 5 to 7 years longer than the average Indian,” Vijayan added.
“Comparing two states is not a good thing. But Revanth Reddy is mocking Kerala and Keralites by hiding his own weaknesses. According to the NITI Aayog’s own estimates, the poverty rate in Kerala is only 0.55%. This is the lowest rate in India. Kerala has become the first state in the country to completely eradicate extreme poverty by the end of 2025. Beyond the eradication of extreme poverty, the LDF has announced plans in its manifesto to eradicate absolute poverty. Poverty in Telangana is 5.88%. The Chief Minister also asked whether the government there has decided not to lift the hands of the extremely poor people,” Vijayan further said in the post.
Revanth Reddy, during an election campaign tour in Kerala on April 1, had launched a scathing attack on the LDF government in the state . Speaking at a campaign meeting at Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, Revanth Reddy alleged a “secret understanding” between the BJP, RSS and the CPM led LDF. “There is no difference between Pinarayi Vijayan and Narendra Modi,” he said, adding, “Today, I appeal to the people of Kerala: if you vote for the LDF or Pinarayi Vijayan, your vote will reach Narendra Modi in Delhi.”
Reddy also stated that Kerala was a state in decline, plagued by corruption, administrative inefficiency and nepotism. He challenged the LDF to compare its achievements with his government’s initiatives in Telangana, such as farm loan waivers and welfare schemes.
Adding a touch of cinematic flair to the campaign, Revanth Reddy used a famous line from the Mohanlal blockbuster Narasimham—”Nee po mone Dinesha” (roughly: “Go away, Dinesha”)—to tell Vijayan that his “expiry date” had passed
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