Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Hyderabad on Sunday, the Telangana Youth Congress blanketed the city with provocative posters declaring “PM is compromised”. The visual campaign is hard to miss, with a massive banner draped over a flyover near the Cyber Towers in Hitech City and smaller stickers plastered across metro pillars, auto-rickshaws, and even over existing Bharatiya Janata Party advertisements.
This latest move marks the third major demonstration orchestrated by Congress activists in the city over the last two months. Only last week, on May 3, the protest took a high-profile turn at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium during the IPL clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. In full view of the cameras and thousands of spectators, rows of Indian Youth Congress workers held up large letter cards to spell out the “PM is compromised” slogan.
The underlying friction stems from a controversial India-US trade deal struck in early February. Under the terms of the agreement, India has reportedly committed to buying $500 billion worth of American goods over a five-year period and agreed to halt the purchase of Russian oil. In return, the US reduced its reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been vocal in his criticism of the pact, alleging that the Prime Minister has effectively surrendered on tariffs and "sold the country" to secure the deal.
The campaign has not been limited to trade grievances. On March 14, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee organised a large-scale rally in Khairtabad. During that event, supporters marched with a 100-foot banner featuring the same slogan, while speakers raised questions regarding the alleged appearance of the Prime Minister’s name within the Epstein files. With the PM's visit, the political temperature in Hyderabad has reached a boiling point as the Opposition continues to double down on these claims.
Also read: Row erupts in T'gana over POCSO case against Union Min's son
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