One of the that catapulted Revanth Reddy to the Chief Minister's chair in Telangana is his aggression. He does not believe in keeping it subtle when he wants to drive a point home. When he spoke about "sacrifices" by Sonia Gandhi that have enabled Christians to celebrate Christmas in Telangana, it was not so much about sycophancy as a well-thought-out political strategy.

As expected, it caught everyone's attention and sent the political mercury soaring. The BJP has called it "Olympic-level sycophancy and boot-licking" and said this was an insult to Jesus Christ and the Christian community, and mockingly suggested that the Congress may next claim the Sun rises because of the Gandhi family.

The BRS called it political theatrics and recirculated videos from when Revanth Reddy was in the Telugu Desam Party and had reportedly referred to Sonia Gandhi as "Bali Devatha" (Deity of Sacrifice), blaming her for the death of young people during the movement for a separate state.  

Examine the statement: "If people are celebrating Christmas in Telangana today, it is because of Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice." 

This was a sequel to Reddy's explosive comment just a month ago, in the run-up to a high-decibel by-poll in Jubilee Hills, when he told the Muslim........

© NDTV