HYDERABAD — A political controversy has erupted in Telangana after a viral video surfaced showing ruling Congress MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy holding the hand of a female college student aboard a state-run bus. The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) accused the 70-year-old legislator of inappropriate conduct, demanding an immediate criminal investigation.
The incident occurred on a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) bus near Bonguluru on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Ranga Reddy, who represents the Ibrahimpatnam constituency, had boarded the bus to review the implementation of the state government’s flagship ‘Mahalakshmi’ scheme, which offers free bus travel to women.
The Viral Video
In the video that is going viral, the MLA can be seen talking to the female students while holding the hand of one of the girl students.
During the conversation, the girl said that the free travel scheme has helped her family save a lot of money and that she saves around ₹45,000 every year on the commute to the college. However, the opponents as well as some critics pointed out that the MLA continued holding onto the hand of the girl throughout the entire conversation.
BRS Demands Immediate FIR
Taking offense at the video, BRS leader and former Indian Police Service officer R S Praveen Kumar blamed the MLA for violating the modesty of a woman and asked why state police had not reacted to the incident.
“Is this not an offense? Is this not a violation of the modesty of a woman?” he asked in his press conference. He called upon the Director General of Police of Telangana state, Women Safety Wing and SHE Teams to intervene into the matter immediately.
He insisted that the police filed a FIR under the provisions of Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of the complaint given by the conductor of the bus.
‘Fatherly Affection Distorted,’ Says MLA
Refuting the allegations, Ranga Reddy issued a video clarification asserting that his actions were being intentionally twisted for political mileage.
The MLA stated that Ibrahimpatnam is a major educational hub with thousands of commuting students. He explained that he boarded the bus following a review meeting at the district collector’s office to directly gather passenger feedback regarding overcrowding and bus frequency.
“The young women on the bus are like my daughters. I spoke to them with fatherly affection,” Ranga Reddy said. He claimed that the footage was captured at a moment when the bus was negotiating a turn at a road junction and accused the BRS of deploying paid social media operatives to misrepresent a routine public interaction.
