Sharing the stage with the Prime Minister, on Sunday, at an event where projects worth Rs 9,400 crore were inaugurated, Reddy sought the Centre’s support for Telangana’s pending proposals like Regional Ring Road-linked development push, the Musi River rejuvenation project, Hyderabad Metro expansion, Future City, among others, while assuring Modi that the state would rise above politics in the interest of national development. He pitched Telangana as India’s next growth engine, saying he can develop a “Telangana Model” on the lines of the “Gujarat Model”.
“Telangana has less than 3% of India’s population, but contributes 5% to the country’s GDP. We want to take that contribution to 10%. But that is possible only with your blessings. Please give us two hours, we will place all our proposals before you,” the Chief Minister said.
CM Reddy argued that India’s growth ambitions cannot be achieved unless high-growth states such as Telangana are accelerated through faster approvals and institutional support from Delhi.
Reddy proposed a special task force and a dedicated single-window mechanism in the Prime Minister’s Office to clear requests from states like Telangana quickly.
The remarks drew an equally political response from Modi.
The Prime Minister, while avoiding a direct confrontation, responded with a mix of reassurance and wit, saying he would work hard to fulfil Telangana’s aspirations.“If Telangana develops, India develops,” Modi said, adding that startups and MSMEs in the state were eager to participate in the “Viksit Bharat” mission.
Then, turning to Revanth Reddy’s Gujarat comparison, Modi said: “I want to tell Revanth Reddy…whatever we gave Gujarat in the last 10 years of our government, I am ready to give Telangana that much.”
But the Prime Minister quickly added a political caveat.
“To my knowledge, the moment I do that, what Telangana is already receiving now will become half. Then you may not be able to achieve your goals,” Modi said.
“That is why it is better that you join hands with me,” he added, signalling the Centre’s willingness to work with the Congress government in Telangana, while also subtly underlining the BJP’s political pitch in the state.
Modi stressed that India cannot become a developed nation unless its states develop together.
“Development of states is essential. Without states progressing, the country cannot progress,” he said, calling for cooperation towards the goal of a “Viksit Bharat by 2047”.
At the event, the Prime Minister unveiled and dedicated projects worth Rs 9,400 crore, including an 80-km four-lane highway project estimated at Rs 3,180 crore and the Zaheerabad Industrial Area in Sangareddy district, being developed under the Hyderabad–Nagpur Industrial Corridor (HNIC) as part of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme worth around Rs 2,360 crore. He also inaugurated the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, developed under PM MITRA Scheme in Warangal.
