- By Deeksha Gour
- Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:51 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged the Centre to consider Bandaru Dattatreya, a senior BJP leader and OBC representative from Telangana, for the position of Vice President of India. He said it was time the Telugu-speaking population received fair representation in top constitutional roles.
Reddy made this statement following the resignation of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. He criticised what he called “continued injustice” to Telugu speakers, pointing out that Telugu is the second most spoken language in the country after Hindi, followed by Bengali.
"The next Vice President must be from Telangana. Telugu people have long been ignored in national leadership. Appointing Bandaru Dattatreya will be a step toward correcting that wrong," the Congress leader told reporters.
Who is Bandaru Dattatreya?
- Bandaru Dattatreya is a veteran BJP leader from Telangana, who has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his early political days in the 1960s. He is a prominent face from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.
- He served as the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge) from 2014 to 2017.
- Dattatreya held gubernatorial roles as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 2019 to 2021 and later as the Governor of Haryana from 2021 to 2023.
- He has represented the Secunderabad constituency in the Lok Sabha multiple times, first elected in 1991 and later in 1998, 1999 and 2014.
Revanth Reddy criticised the BJP for sidelining Telugu OBC leaders. He said the BJP removed Dattatreya from the governor's post and also replaced Bandi Sanjay as Telangana BJP chief. Reddy also referred to former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, a Telugu leader, saying he too was "sent home" from Delhi.