KTR slams Congress, BJP leaders over dignity of office in Telangana
Synopsis
BRS Working President KT Rama Rao used a Saturday bike rally featuring Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad to deliver a dual strike — accusing Telangana’s Congress chief minister of acting as Gandhi’s bodyguard and BJP leaders of carrying Amit Shah’s footwear. By anchoring the attack in Telangana’s self-respect founding principle, BRS is signalling it intends to stay on the offensive against both national parties on home turf.
Key Takeaways
BRS Working President K.T.
Rama Rao on 15 November attacked both Congress and BJP leaders in Telangana over what he called a lack of dignity in office.
Rama Rao posted on X that CM Revanth Reddy was ‘acting like a bodyguard’ of Rahul Gandhi and TPCC president B.
Mahesh Kumar Goud ran behind Gandhi’s bike ‘like an errand boy.’ He also criticised BJP leaders for ‘touching the feet of Amit Shah and carrying his chappal.’ Rahul Gandhi led a bike rally with gig workers in Hyderabad on Saturday and unveiled a welfare package for the community.
BRS questioned the protocol under which Gandhi participates in and inaugurates state government schemes.
Goud explained the running incident by saying his bike skidded and that Gandhi called him over; he described it as his ‘good fortune.’
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Sunday, 15 November launched a sharp attack on the state units of both the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana, accusing their leaders of lacking the dignity expected of public office. His remarks came a day after Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi led a bike rally with gig workers in Hyderabad.
What KTR Said on X
In a pointed post on X, Rama Rao wrote: ‘Dignity of office seems like a rare trait with Telangana Congress & BJP leaders — CM acting like a body guard of Gandhis, PCC president & Minister running behind Rahul Gandhi’s bike like errand boys.’ He also criticised BJP state leaders, writing: ‘Likewise Union Minister and BJP state president touching the feet of Amit Shah and carrying his chappal. What shameful and unbecoming behaviour.’
Invoking the founding ethos of the state, Rama Rao added that Telangana was built on the principle of self-respect and that the two national parties — Congress and BJP — appeared incapable of grasping that value.
The Trigger: Rahul Gandhi’s Hyderabad Visit
The BRS leader was reacting to scenes from a Saturday event in Hyderabad, where Rahul Gandhi led a bike rally with gig workers before addressing the valedictory session of the Bharat Summit, organised by the state government. At the event, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud was seen running alongside Gandhi’s bike, drawing attention and criticism from opposition quarters.
Goud offered an explanation, saying his bike had skidded and that Gandhi himself noticed his absence and called out to him. The TPCC chief also said he ‘ran because he is fit’ and described it as his ‘good fortune’ to run alongside Gandhi. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was separately described by BRS as ‘acting like a bodyguard’ of Gandhi during the event — a characterisation the Congress has not publicly responded to.
BRS Questions Rahul Gandhi’s Protocol
Beyond the optics, BRS also raised a pointed constitutional question: in what capacity did Rahul Gandhi participate in state government functions? In a separate social media post, the party asked: ‘In what capacity do you participate in state government events? Under what protocol do you inaugurate government schemes?’
The party further advised Gandhi that ‘it’s not enough to just hold the Constitution and spout platitudes’ and urged him ‘to first learn its values.’ This line of criticism reflects BRS’s consistent strategy of positioning Gandhi’s Telangana visits as politically motivated interference rather than legitimate governance participation.
Context and Political Background
The Congress returned to power in Telangana after the November 2023 assembly elections, ending nearly a decade of BRS rule. Since then, BRS has sought to sharpen its opposition identity, frequently targeting both the Congress-led state government and the BJP at the Centre. Saturday’s event — which included the unveiling of a welfare package for gig workers — gave BRS fresh ammunition to frame the Congress as sycophantic and BJP as subservient to its national leadership.
Notably, this is not the first time Rama Rao has used the self-respect framing to attack rivals; it draws deliberately on the emotional legacy of the Telangana statehood movement. How the Congress and BJP respond — if at all — will signal whether they view the attack as politically significant or a routine opposition jab.
Point of View
BRS avoids looking like a one-sided spoiler and frames itself as the only authentic Telangana party. The self-respect invocation is deliberate: it ties opposition rhetoric to statehood sentiment, BRS’s most durable political asset. What mainstream coverage misses is the protocol question buried in the BRS statement — whether the Leader of Opposition can legitimately inaugurate state government schemes is a genuinely unresolved constitutional grey area. If BRS pursues that line legally rather than merely rhetorically, it could pose a more lasting problem for Congress than the optics of a bike rally.
NationPress
15 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did KT Rama Rao say about Congress and BJP leaders in Telangana?
KT Rama Rao said on 15 November that ‘dignity of office seems like a rare trait’ with Telangana Congress and BJP leaders. In an X post, he accused CM Revanth Reddy of acting as Rahul Gandhi’s bodyguard, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud of running behind Gandhi’s bike, and BJP leaders of touching Amit Shah’s feet and carrying his footwear.
Why did TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud run alongside Rahul Gandhi’s bike?
Goud explained that his own bike had skidded during the rally and that Rahul Gandhi noticed his absence and called him over. He said he ran because he is physically fit and called it his good fortune to run alongside Gandhi.
What was Rahul Gandhi doing in Hyderabad that triggered the BRS attack?
Rahul Gandhi visited Hyderabad on Saturday, where he led a bike rally with gig workers and unveiled a welfare package for them. He also addressed the valedictory session of the Bharat Summit organised by the Telangana state government.
What protocol question has BRS raised about Rahul Gandhi’s Telangana visits?
BRS has asked in what capacity Gandhi, as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, participates in and inaugurates state government schemes. The party questioned whether any formal protocol permits him to preside over Telangana government events.
What is the political significance of KTR invoking Telangana’s self-respect principle?
Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 following a prolonged agitation rooted in demands for regional identity and self-respect. By invoking that founding ethos, BRS is attempting to position Congress and BJP as outsider parties that do not understand Telangana’s political culture, reinforcing its own claim as the state’s authentic political force.
