KTR Denied Entry In Telangana Assembly Over T-Shirt With Revanth-Adani Logo, BJP Slams Congress ‘Double Standard’

BRS MLAs, including former minister KTR, staged a protest by wearing shirts linking CM Revanth Reddy and industrialist Gautam Adani. They were stopped by police at the entrance of the Assembly.

In a dramatic protest ahead of the winter session of the Telangana Assembly on Monday, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs and MLCs arrived wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan 'Adani-Revanth Bhai Bhai' and images of Congress Chief Minister Revanth Reddy alongside industrialist Gautam Adani. The protest was aimed at highlighting what the BRS termed an "unholy nexus" between the Congress leader and the billionaire. 

The legislators were stopped by police at the entrance of the Assembly, prompting slogans against the Congress government and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) defended the protest, comparing it to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's demonstrations in Parliament. 

Rahul Gandhi and other Congress MPs wore T-shirts exposing the friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani. Why cannot we do the same thing here in Telangana Assembly? We are saying Revanth Reddy and Congress are indulging in duplicity,” KTR told reporters, as quoted by news agency PTI.

He further told ANI, "Double standard of Congress needs to be exposed. On the one hand in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi wears a T-shirt saying Adani and PM are one, but the fact is Adani and Revanth Reddy are best friends. Therefore, we are exposing the Congress and we will continue to expose them in the House also. If Rahul Gandhi can be allowed in Parliament, there's no reason why we should not be allowed here."

The police later escorted the BRS legislators away in vehicles.

The protest follows Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s announcement on November 25 rejecting a Rs 100 crore corporate social responsibility (CSR) donation by Adani for the Young India Skills University in the state. The announcement came days after Adani’s indictment in a US court over alleged bribery. The Congress government stated that it wished to avoid "unwarranted controversy." 

Adani had previously met Revanth Reddy on October 18 and symbolically handed over the Rs 100 crore cheque.

BJP Social Media In-charge Amit Malviya criticised the Congress government for its handling of the protest. Writing on X, he said, "BRS MLAs, led by KT Rama Rao, were not allowed in the Telangana Assembly this morning because they wore T-shirts marked with Revanth-Adani logo. Congress led Telangana government has been soliciting investments and funds from the Adani Group. But Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra and their minions in the Congress routinely turn out in the Parliament, wearing various drama costumes and indulge in mindless theatrics... This kind of double standard and dictatorial tendencies of the Congress is what is pushing them to irrelevance."

INDIA Bloc Protests In Parliament Over Adani Issue

The BJP's remarks come as leaders of some INDIA bloc parties protested in the Parliament complex over the Adani controversy. Rahul Gandhi staged a mock interview with Congress members wearing masks of Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani. Gandhi asked the Congress MP posing as Adani about the industrialist’s relationship with Modi and elicited responses laced with satire, such as, “We are together” and “He does whatever I say and want.”

The protest also included MPs from the Left, DMK, Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, and NCP. They raised slogans demanding a discussion and a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations against the Adani Group, which has dismissed the claims as baseless. Notably, the TMC did not participate in the protest. 

The Congress has reiterated that the US indictment of Adani vindicates its demand for a JPC investigation and called for the industrialist’s immediate arrest even as the Adani Group has dismissed all allegations as baseless.