It was clear from Day One that this time Rahul Gandhi’s tour of Telangana is going to be different. He has not just addressed a public meeting, but also made an overnight stay in Hyderabad. On Saturday, he addressed a meeting of intellectuals in a swank hotel and then called on the NSUI workers ,who are now in detention in jail.
But there is much more to his tour this time. On Saturday, he did not have any public programme till about 12 noon. What did he do till 12 noon? It is now emerging that Rahul Gandhi met some media barons with known anti-TRS slant. He held discussions with them to know the political situation in the state. He also reportedly sought their support in airing the Congress point of view in their media channels.
The first one to arrive was Andhra Jyothi’s Vemuri Radhakrishna. Interestingly, TPCC chief Revanth Reddy himself drove RK in his vehicle and brought him to the Taj Krishna Inn hotel, where Rahul Gandhi was staying. The three had a meeting for over half-hour. They not only discussed the current political scenario, but also on how the Congress should go about.
Soon after RK, the owner of another stridently anti-TRS channel – TV 5 – Naidu came and met Rahul Gandhi. He was followed by CVR channel’s owner CV Rao. Several Left-leaning leading lights such as Gaddar aka Gummadi Vithal Rao, Vimalakka and anti-BJP Dalit ideologue Prof. Kanche Ilaiah also met Rahul Gandhi. Thus, Rahul showed a marked change in his approach this time unlike the last time when he remained aloof and did not meet anyone.
