Revanth seeks to end face-off with Pinarayi, says won't respond rashly to 'dash mon' comment

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has sought to wind up the verbal duel with his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, with what he called his 'final response' raising pointed questions on the LDF's poverty eradication claims, corruption allegations and the use of 'outdated data' to assess Telangana’s performance.

In a letter on Tuesday, after Vijayan sent him one earlier in the day, Revanth Reddy said he had chose to conduct himself 'respectfully and gracefully' in his criticism of the Kerala government, even as Vijayan had chose to use 'language of poor taste'.

"I won't respond with a rash comment to a dash comment," he wrote in an obvious counter to Vijayan calling him "Dash mone Revantha.." at a press conference on Tuesday.

Stating that he would continue to extend due respect as a host whenever Vijayan visited Telangana, Revanth Reddy also cited the use of the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023-24 and argued that the index reflected the 'tail-end of a decade of BRS-BJP misrule' and did not represent the performance of the current Congress government, which had completed 28 months in office.

He claimed that Telangana’s Gross State Domestic Product for 2024-25 stood at ₹16.12 lakh crore, growing at 10.7 per cent, above the national average of 9.9 per cent. The state’s per capita income reached ₹3.87 lakh, making Telangana the highest-ranked major state in India on this metric, ahead of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala, as per the RBI’s Handbook of Statistics 2024-25.

While acknowledging Kerala’s cumulative achievements, Revanth Reddy said the focus should be on what has been delivered during Vijayan’s tenure. He urged the Kerala leadership to present a clear account of its performance to the people.

On the issue of extreme poverty, the Telangana Chief Minister questioned the LDF government’s claim that it would eliminate extreme poverty by late 2025. Referring to figures cited in Vijayan’s communication, he pointed out that 64,006 families were still receiving micro-plans as of April 2026.

“I ask plainly: has extreme poverty been eradicated? Was the November 1, 2025 declaration independently verified?” he said, seeking clarity on the claim.

Raising concerns over corruption, Revanth Reddy said that while he respected NITI Aayog’s rankings, unresolved issues continued to raise doubts. He referred to the Kerala gold smuggling case, alleging links to individuals connected to the Chief Minister’s office, and questioned why it remained unresolved. He also sought answers regarding the alleged misappropriation of 4.5 kg of gold from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.

He expressed confidence that Kerala’s next government would implement its “Nava Keralam” vision, adding that the people of Kerala would deliver their verdict soon.

​​The face-off between the two Chief Ministers began after Revanth Reddy said during his election campaign in Kerala that Vijayan's time was over, and gave Mohanlal's iconic dialogue "Nee Po Mone Dinesha..." his own variant. Vijayan hit back with a statement, describing the Telangana CM as 'misinformed' and accused him of 'ridiculing' Kerala and its people. Revanth Reddy responded to this on Monday with a six-page letter as both kept making claims and counter claims. Vijayan had hinted a strong rebuttal earlier on Tuesday, when during a press conference, he said "Dash mone Revantha.." and added that Reddy would get his reply soon.