KTR slams Pawan Kalyan: Telangana needs no patriotism lessons
Synopsis
KTR's Hyderabad Press Club broadside wasn't just a rebuttal — it was a territorial line. Invoking Potti Sriramulu's 58-day fast, the 60-year statehood struggle, and Telangana's 5% GDP punch, the BRS leader served Pawan Kalyan a choice: arrive as a brother for biryani, or as a rival and face political resistance.
Key Takeaways
KTR said Telangana needs no lessons on patriotism from Pawan Kalyan , speaking at Hyderabad Press Club on 3 June .
He noted Telangana contributes nearly 5% of India's GDP despite being under 3% of the country geographically.
KTR invoked Potti Sriramulu's 58-day fast to counter Pawan Kalyan's ‘regionalism more dangerous than terrorism' remark.
He confirmed Jana Sena is free to contest in Telangana, citing its participation in the 2023 Assembly and recent municipal polls.
KTR also accused PM Narendra Modi of diverting industries away from Telangana.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday, 3 June hit back sharply at Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, declaring from Hyderabad that Telangana does not need any lessons on patriotism from the Jana Sena chief. The remarks came a day after the actor-politician's press conference in the city, escalating a fresh political flashpoint between the two Telugu states.
What KTR said
Speaking at the Hyderabad Press Club, the BRS leader said struggles and sacrifices were not new to Telangana. ‘We need no lessons on patriotism from Pawan Kalyan. Struggles and sacrifices are not new to us,' he said.
Rama Rao pointed out that Telangana accounts for less than three per cent of India geographically but contributes nearly five per cent of the country's GDP — a statistic he used to push back against what he framed as moral policing from across the border.
The biryani offer and the warning
In a pointed turn of phrase, KTR said the Jana Sena chief was welcome as a guest but not as a political overlord. ‘We respect him as the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. We admire him as an artist and as an actor. If he visits us as a brother, we will treat him with a Hyderabadi biryani, but if he attempts to assert his dominance in our politics, we will not stand for it,' he said, invoking the 60-year struggle that culminated in statehood in 2014.
On the ‘jagir' jibe
Responding to Pawan Kalyan's remark that ‘Telangana is not your father's jagir', KTR countered that the state ‘is definitely the jagir of the sons of the soil of Telangana'. He added that no one had stopped the actor or his family — who reside and run businesses in Hyderabad — over the past 12 years.
Regionalism vs terrorism debate
Reacting to Pawan Kalyan's contention that regionalism is more dangerous than terrorism, KTR invoked Potti Sriramulu, who fasted for 58 days and died demanding a Telugu state. He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of ‘acting like the Prime Minister of Gujarat' by allegedly diverting industries away from Telangana.
On Jana Sena's Telangana plans
On Pawan Kalyan's announcement that Jana Sena will contest elections in Telangana, KTR said the Constitution permits any citizen to float a party and contest from any state, noting that Jana Sena had already fielded candidates in the 2023 Assembly elections and recent municipal polls. However, he insisted that leaders entering the state must respect ‘the aspirations of the people of that state, their struggles and sacrifices'.
KTR also took exception to Pawan Kalyan's reported discomfort with the manner of Telangana's formation. ‘Why beat around the bush? Say clearly that you did not like the formation of the Telangana state,' he said. The exchange signals a sharpening of inter-state political rhetoric ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Point of View
KTR needs a sharp ‘sons of the soil' framing — and Pawan Kalyan, now a constitutional functionary in Andhra Pradesh, is a near-perfect foil. The deeper subtext is the unfinished business of bifurcation: water, capital, jobs, and now narrative. Expect this binary — Telangana pride vs Andhra reach — to harden as both states approach the next electoral cycle.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did KTR say about Pawan Kalyan?
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao said Telangana does not need any lessons on patriotism from Pawan Kalyan. He made the remarks at the Hyderabad Press Club on 3 June, a day after the Jana Sena chief's press conference in the city.
Why is KTR upset with Pawan Kalyan?
KTR objected to Pawan Kalyan's remarks describing regionalism as more dangerous than terrorism and his ‘Telangana is not your father's jagir' comment. He argued such statements ignored the 60-year statehood struggle and the sacrifices that led to Telangana's formation in 2014.
Is Jana Sena contesting elections in Telangana?
Pawan Kalyan has announced that Jana Sena will contest elections in Telangana. KTR noted the party had already contested the 2023 Assembly elections and recent municipal polls, adding that no one was stopping it from doing so under the Constitution.
What did KTR say about Telangana's economic contribution?
KTR said Telangana accounts for less than three per cent of India geographically but contributes nearly five per cent of the country's GDP. He used the figure to push back against what he called moral policing from outside the state.
