Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy spoke about his anti-encroachment force HYDRAA, and that it was "inspired by Hitler".
(ANI File Photo)The Congress CM said his anti-encroachment team works like Adolf Hitler's core assassination team “Hydra” did — except, Hitler never had a team by that name.
The comic-book organisation Hydra is shown to have links with Nazi Germany and is associated with characters including Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a former Nazi officer.
So, I took inspiration from Hitler and named it HYDRAA," the CM stated, mixing up history with movies.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also launched a scathing attack, describing Revanth Reddy as the “new Hitler”.
When Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy spoke of being “inspired by Hitler” for how his government’s task force HYDRAA works, he did not just ignite a controversy but also made a historical blooper, mixing up his praise for the Nazi German dictator with a popular comic book reference. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy spoke about his anti-encroachment force HYDRAA, and that it was "inspired by Hitler". (ANI File Photo)
The Congress CM said his anti-encroachment team works like Adolf Hitler's core assassination team “Hydra” did — except, Hitler never had a team by that name. Instead, ‘HYDRA’ is the name of a fictional terrorist organisation that appears in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as in the ‘Avengers’ movies that form a big part of American pop culture and Hollywood.
Reddy was not completely off the mark in how he was indeed referring to the Nazis, in one way. The comic-book organisation Hydra is shown to have links with Nazi Germany and is associated with characters including Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a former Nazi officer.
This fictional construction matches CM Reddy's description of an elite squad that could “assassinate anyone”.
Hitler’s actual state-terror apparatus and paramilitary organisations consisted primarily of the SS (Schutzstaffel), the Gestapo (Secret State Police), and the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units).
In actual World War 2 history, the use of the word ‘Hydra’ was for Operation Hydra, a 1943 bombing raid carried out by the British Royal Air Force against a German rocket research facility.
Reddy comments spark fury The remarks by Reddy were made during a public event in Bengaluru on Sunday. He was asked about the success and methods of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), a specialised task force established in July 2024 to clear illegal encroachments from the city's lakes, parks, and stormwater channels.
While defending the agency's aggressive demolition drives, Reddy provided an explanation for its name. "Hydra, the word, is Hitler's favourite word. His core team was called Hydra, which could assassinate anyone. So, I took inspiration from Hitler and named it HYDRAA," the CM stated, mixing up history with movies.
He further justified the scale of the demolitions by drawing parallels to war zones: "I have demolished like anything. If you see the visuals from Iran, you can compare them with Israel or any such demolitions caused by war, and compare them with these demolitions carried out by HYDRAA." Israel recently flattened the Palestinian territory of Gaza after its military actions killed over 60,000 people there — an action CM Reddy's party Congress has pointedly criticised, while the BJP-led NDA government has also called for peace in the region.
As for Reddy's HYDRAA, it was established in 2024 and is headed by an IPS officer. It is the designated Telangana government agency responsible for protecting government assets, lakes, and public land in Hyderabad from encroachments, as well as managing urban disaster response.
The CM's comments immediately drew severe backlash from opposition parties, who seized on the invocation of the German dictator and war-zone destruction to condemn the Congress-led state government's governance style.
Union minister G Kishan Reddy, who is the BJP's Secunderabad MP, said the Congress's "dangerous Hitler-Emergency mindset" was “out in the open”. Kishan Reddy demanded an unconditional apology.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also launched a scathing attack, describing Revanth Reddy as the “new Hitler”.
The party alleged that the homes of lakhs of poor and middle-class people have been demolished under his administration. The state government says HYDRAA has successfully reclaimed land worth over ₹1 lakh crore from “wealthy” encroachers alone.
