Indo-Pak tension: Telangana minister Uttam Reddy ready to don pilot uniform again

Hyderabad: Irrigation and civil supplies minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who once flew MiG-23s as an Indian Air Force fighter pilot, has expressed readiness to return to combat if the country ever needed him again.

Chatting informally with reporters at Gandhi Bhavan, Uttam Kumar Reddy spoke candidly about his military past and current tensions between India and Pakistan, declaring he’d be ready.

He reflected on joining the armed forces at just 16. By 1982, Uttam Kumar Reddy was flying MiG-21s, and later got behind the controls of the MiG-23 - a jet so fast it could hit speeds more than twice the speed of sound.

“I was just 20, already a fighter pilot,” he said, looking back on postings in places like Uttar Pradesh, Srinagar, and Amritsar - areas that have long been on the edge regarding national security.

Speaking about the April 22 incident, Uttam Kumar Reddy didn’t mince words. He called it a terror attack backed by Pakistan and slammed the killings, especially those carried out in the name of religion. According to him, the entire nation, including Kashmir, stood together in condemning it.

He pointed to The Resistance Front, an outfit tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, as the group that claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. “India had every reason to hit back,” he said, referring to the recent military response.

Uttam Kumar Reddy also touched on Operation Sindoor, claiming Rafale jets and Kamikaze drones were deployed from within Indian territory as part of the mission. He argued that such strong responses are crucial if India ever hopes to achieve a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue.

“I believe the Kashmir conflict won’t truly end until India takes back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said without hesitation.

According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, the assault on Jammu left India no choice but to respond, and any continued aggression from across the border could spell disaster for Pakistan. “No other nation is going to step in with military support,” he noted.

And if it comes down to war? Uttam Kumar Reddy’s message was clear: “If there’s a full-scale conflict and I’m needed - I’ll fight again.”