The controversy over installing a statue of legendary singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam at Ravindra Bharathi was not new. It had been circulating for weeks and was slowly losing momentum. However, fresh remarks by Telangana Jagruthi president Kalvakuntla Kavitha brought the issue back into sharp focus and reignited a debate that many felt was nearing closure.

Kavitha argued that Ravindra Bharathi should ideally feature statues of Telangana artists and suggested that SP Balu could be honoured at other locations such as Prasads. While she did not oppose a statue in Hyderabad itself, her comments shifted the discussion once again toward regional identity rather than artistic legacy. SP Balasubrahmanyam was a rare cultural figure whose work crossed linguistic and regional boundaries, and he consciously stayed away from political disputes. Yet his name continues to be drawn into narratives he never sought.

What stood out even more was that Kavitha expanded her criticism to the recent Lionel Messi football event in Hyderabad. She described it as a platform to project Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and alleged that Rs 10 crore of Singareni funds were used to develop the stadium. This framing reduces a global sporting event to a narrow political lens.

Sporting icons like Messi inspire young people and help build long-term sporting culture. Infrastructure created for such events remains in public use and does not disappear once the spotlight fades. By questioning both cultural honours and international sporting initiatives, Kavitha risks making everything political.

Kavitha recently appeared to be handling politics more maturely. That is why her latest comments feel disappointing, as she turned positive cultural and sports moments into unnecessary political issues.