Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday, 19 July issued a stern warning to all Indian National Congress (INC) leaders in the state, directing them to actively participate in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and making clear that negligence in the process will not be tolerated. The warning came during a virtual review meeting convened specifically to assess the party's ground-level engagement with the SIR exercise.

Key Directives from the Chief Minister

Addressing the meeting, Revanth Reddy ordered ministers, MLAs, in-charges, corporation chairpersons, and party coordinators to move out of Hyderabad and remain active in their respective constituencies. He stated that ministers-in-charge bear the ultimate responsibility for supervising the SIR process in their districts and that any failure to perform field duties will attract strict action.

He specifically called upon Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President Mahesh Goud to take greater responsibility in coordinating ministers-in-charge, MLAs, and party in-charges across the state.

Deadline Extended to August 3

The Chief Minister noted that the SIR deadline has been extended to 3 August, and urged the party to treat the additional time as an opportunity rather than a reprieve. He announced that on Monday, 10 in-charge ministers would hold review meetings on SIR across all districts of the state. A comprehensive review is scheduled for 30 July, where reports will be collected on an Assembly-constituency basis.

Notably, the Congress party has conducted 489 meetings on SIR across 119 constituencies so far. However, Revanth Reddy flagged that several constituencies are lagging and require immediate corrective action.

Crackdown on Gandhi Bhavan Loitering

In a pointed remark, the Chief Minister said some leaders are simply staying in Hyderabad and not doing active work. He directed party leaders not to visit Gandhi Bhavan — the state Congress headquarters — from Monday until 3 August, warning that those seeking chairman posts or party positions by hovering around the headquarters will not be granted any appointments.

He emphasised that leaders must utilise Booth Level Agents (BLAs) working on behalf of the party and should not rely solely on reports from Booth Level Officers (BLOs). He made clear that strict action will follow if BLO reports are the only basis for assessments, and that MLAs, constituency in-charges, and chairpersons must personally examine BLA reports.

Incentive for Top BLAs

As a motivational measure, Revanth Reddy announced that the 100 best-performing BLAs will be given an opportunity to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and take a photograph with him. He also said that MPs must continue conducting regular reviews of the SIR process even while attending Parliament sessions, and that failure to do so in their in-charge areas will invite strict action.

With the revised deadline approaching, the coming ten days will test whether the Congress machinery in Telangana can translate the Chief Minister's directives into measurable ground-level outcomes.