Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy has sparked a controversy over his reference to Adolf Hitler while praising the success of the HYDRAA project in the state.
Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Reddy was asked how successful the HYDRAA project had been. In response, he said that no one now dares to encroach upon lakes and water bodies.
HYDRAA stands for the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency. It is a specialised task force set up by Reddy, in July 2024, to protect government lands, parks and lakes. It is known most prominently in the public imagination for carrying out demolitions.
Reddy said the need for such a task force, which employs thousands of retired army officers, arose after he witnessed widespread encroachments of lakes and water bodies.
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"I can understand poor people encroaching on lakes and nalas. Nowadays, rich people are also encroaching on water bodies because of their farmhouses and are connecting their drainage systems to them. I noticed all these issues. Then I decided to establish a task force — HYDRAA," he said at the event.
The controversy erupted when Reddy claimed that the word "HYDRAA" was inspired by Hitler's core team, which he said was called “Hydra”. He said: "Hydra, the word, is Hitler's favourite word. His core team was called ‘Hydra’, which could assassinate anyone. So, I took inspiration from Hitler and named it HYDRAA." He apparently mixed up references here as, historically, Hitler’s notorious paramilitary and security forces were the SS and the Gestapo, not something called ‘Hydra’. The name ‘Hydra’ in popular culture is most famously associated with a fictional authoritarian organisation in Marvel Comics.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy erupted when Reddy claimed that the word "HYDRAA" was inspired by Hitler's core team, which he said was called “Hydra”. He said: "Hydra, the word, is Hitler's favourite word. His core team was called ‘Hydra’, which could assassinate anyone. So, I took inspiration from Hitler and named it HYDRAA." He apparently mixed up references here as, historically, Hitler’s notorious paramilitary and security forces were the SS and the Gestapo, not something called ‘Hydra’. The name ‘Hydra’ in popular culture is most famously associated with a fictional authoritarian organisation in Marvel Comics.
{{/usCountry}}Reddy did not stop there. While highlighting HYDRAA's work, he compared its demolition drives with the destruction caused by Israel in other countries, including Iran. Though he did not mention Gaza, Israel has carried out several strikes there that have destroyed buildings and affected civilian lives.
"I have demolished like anything. If you see the visuals from Iran, you can compare them with Israel or any such demolitions caused by war, and compare them with these demolitions carried out by HYDRAA," he said.
Reddy added that people from across the country are approaching him to study HYDRAA and learn from its implementation.
Opposition slams Reddy over Hitler references
Reacting to the Telangana CM's remarks, Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy, in a post on X, said the Congress party's "dangerous Hitler-Emergency mindset" was once again out in the open.
"Revanth Reddy is now openly boasting that Hitler inspired him to create HYDRAA and is comparing demolitions in Hyderabad to those in war-torn regions such as Iran and Israel, echoing the language of his leader Rahul Gandhi," Kishan Reddy said.
He further alleged that "from the Emergency to Hitler, Congress has always muzzled people" and demanded that the chief minister tender an unconditional apology to the people of Telangana.
The BRS, in a post on X, described Revanth Reddy as the "new Hitler" and alleged that the homes of lakhs of poor people had been demolished under his administration.