BRS Questions CM’s CPRO Over Alleged Role in Congress Strategy Meeting

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has raised questions over the alleged participation of an official from Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s office in a Congress Party communication strategy meeting, triggering a fresh political controversy in Telangana.

The row centres on Malsur, a Group-I officer serving as the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) to the Chief Minister. According to the BRS, Malsur attended a training session for the Congress Party’s media and social media teams at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The issue came to light after Congress MP and party communication in-charge Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy shared photographs from the meeting on social media platform X. Malsur was reportedly seen alongside Congress leaders in the images. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s initial post said the session focused on political issues, handling debates and press conferences, and communicating strong, fact-based information to the public.

However, the post was later deleted and replaced with a revised version. The new post reportedly omitted Malsur’s name and photographs and instead referred to discussions with media and social media teams on strengthening communication around the Congress government’s programmes and taking them effectively to the people.

The development drew sharp criticism from the BRS. Party spokesperson M. Krishank questioned whether a government officer could conduct a training programme at the office of a political party. He alleged that the participation of a serving Group-I officer, who is currently working as the Chief Minister’s CPRO, in a Congress Party training session could set a “bad precedent.”

Another BRS spokesperson, Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy, also raised questions over the officer’s alleged role in the meeting. He asked why the Chief Minister’s CPRO was providing guidance to Congress media and social media teams on dealing with the BRS during debates and on social media.

“ Is the CM’s CPRO a government employee or a Congress Party worker? ” he asked, alleging that the officer was receiving salary, allowances and other benefits from the state exchequer.

The BRS further alleged that the participation of a government official in a party programme amounted to the misuse of government machinery. With questions now being raised over the alleged involvement of an officer from the Chief Minister’s Office in a Congress communication strategy meeting, the episode has emerged as a new political flashpoint in Telangana.