The confrontationist stand taken by Telugu Desam Party spokesperson G Deepak Reddy against Republic TV channel promoted by Arnab Goswami over the latest IndiGo Airlines crisis has caused immense damage to the party across the country.
Apparently realising this, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has given a dressing down to the party leaders, particularly spokespersons, for their failure to handle the issue during the television debates on national channels.
While Union civil aviation minister G Rammohan Naidu, who was in the centre of controversy, came up with strong defence in the channels like India Today and Times Now and won their appreciation, the TDP spokespersons complicated the matter with their stand to boycott Republic TV channel, which sought to blame Rammohan Naidu.
Naidu reviewed the sequence of events after the Republic TV aired a debate in which TDP spokesperson G Deepak Reddy participated and messed up the whole issue by saying that party general secretary Nara Lokesh is reviewing the IndiGo Airlines crisis and set up a war room to monitor the situation from time to time.
Naidu pulled up Deepak Reddy for dragging Lokesh’s name into the issue, creating an unnecessary political controversy.
“Why did you involve the state party leaders and the government in the subject that falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the Central government,” he asked.
He is learned to have told leaders that airline operations and regulatory subjects do not come under the purview of the Andhra Pradesh government, and therefore should not have been taken up by party spokespersons in the first place.
The chief minister also mentioned that Republic TV headed by Arnab Goswami is a friendly channel of the TDP and Deepak Reddy ruined the relations by declaring that he would boycott the channel.
“This has shown the TDP in poor light,” Naidu said.
He observed that an otherwise minor discussion had been allowed to blow out of proportion and criticised the party spokesperson’s announcement of a boycott of the channel, which he felt only added fuel to the fire.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of preparedness, the chief minister is said to have remarked that official spokespeople were not articulating the party line correctly.
He also questioned why he was not informed until the issue snowballed into a controversy.
He further said the episode exposed gaps in guiding spokespersons on the party’s ideological position and the government’s policy stance.
He directed leaders to ensure that party representatives engage in public debates only after thorough briefing.
He cautioned that recent events showed how an ill-prepared comment on national issues could trigger avoidable complications.
Representatives must stay fully updated on state-level developments and clearly understand the extent of the party’s role, he said.
Drawing a comparison, Naidu remarked that BJP leaders—whether at the national or district level—speak in a unified voice. TDP leaders must also respond in a similar, coordinated manner, he insisted.
Naidu stated that the TDP, while working in coordination with the BJP at both the Centre and in the state, must remain fully aware of institutional limits and responsibilities.
He directed leaders to strengthen internal communication channels to prevent such lapses in the future.
