T’gana CM questions Vijayan’s claims on poverty eradication

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy challenges Kerala's claims of eradicating extreme poverty, questioning governance and citing Telangana's economic progress.

Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday dismissed his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan’s claims that Kerala had become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty.

T’gana CM questions Vijayan’s claims on poverty eradication

Countering the points raised by Vijayan’s letter to him earlier in the day, Revanth Reddy dashed off a reply, raising questions over Kerala’s claims on poverty eradication and governance.

“You tweeted that by late 2025, Kerala is set to become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty. We are in April 2026. In your letter, you speak of 64,006 families still receiving micro-plans. I ask plainly: has extreme poverty been eradicated? Was the November 1, 2025 declaration independently verified?” he asked.

Reddy said he had maintained “respect and grace” in his earlier criticism of the Kerala government, but alleged that the latter had used “language of poor taste.”

He took special exception to Vijayan’s reliance on the NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2023–24, arguing that it reflects the “tail-end of a decade of misrule” prior to the Congress coming to power in December 2023.

“Telangana’s per capita income reached ₹3.87 lakh, placing it ahead of major states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala,” he said, citing data from the Reserve Bank of India Handbook of Statistics 2024–25.

Outlining Telangana’s roadmap, Reddy said the state aims to become a $1 trillion economy within a decade under the “Telangana Rising” vision. Key projects include the proposed Future City near Hyderabad and the National Industrial Corridor at Zahirabad.

He also expressed hope that a future government in Kerala would effectively implement the “Nava Keralam” vision.