Revanth Reddy's 18-Hour Work Claim: How Much Truth Is There?
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has been repeatedly making a particular statement over the past few months. He claims that he works for 18 hours a day. When Chandrababu Naidu first became Chief Minister during the united Andhra Pradesh era, he too used to make the same claim repeatedly. Now, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has also adopted the 18-hour work slogan. However, there appears to be no connection between Revanth Reddy's claims and the actual situation. Even when he is in Hyderabad, there are hardly any instances of him reviewing matters related to even a single department on a daily basis. Whenever such reviews take place, they are generally held only in the evening. Officials say that sometimes even these meetings do not take place. Officials familiar with Revanth Reddy's working style say that his official programmes begin quite late. According to official sources, not even a single official review meeting starts at the scheduled time.
Another important point is that Telangana Cabinet meetings have also never started on time since Revanth Reddy became Chief Minister, a senior IAS officer revealed. He remarked that Revanth Reddy is perhaps the only Chief Minister to have conducted Cabinet meetings in this manner. On the other hand, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy visits the Secretariat only occasionally, mainly when Cabinet meetings are scheduled. During the remaining time, he does not even turn towards the Secretariat. As a result, Revanth Reddy is also facing criticism for having become a Chief Minister who operates primarily from his camp office. It is known that Revanth Reddy has got a new camp office constructed under the name of 'Bodhi Pavilion' at the MCR HRD Institute, which is located close to his residence. Initially, the project was taken up with an estimated cost of less than Rs. 10 crore. However, allegations have emerged that the project cost subsequently increased to Rs. 100 crore.
Former minister Harish Rao alleged that Rs. 17 crore was spent on fencing alone and another Rs. 10 crore on the football ground. Even before the camp office was ready, Revanth Reddy had been conducting review meetings at the Police Command and Control Centre instead of visiting the Secretariat. Revanth Reddy claims that he works for 18 hours a day to project himself as someone who is constantly working hard for the state. However, there is hardly any truth in these claims, according to even Congress leaders. In the past, former Chief Minister KCR cited severe Vastu defects and got a new Secretariat constructed at a cost of nearly Rs. 1,000 crore. For reasons that remain unclear, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, instead of discharging his duties from the existing Secretariat, has got a new camp office constructed by spending crores of rupees. Officials remark that irrespective of who comes to power, building offices according to their personal preferences with public money has become a trend among political leaders.
