Hyderabad, Jan 26 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy began his executive education at the famed Kennedy School at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with program orientation and cohort introduction.

The program, â??Leadership in the 21st Centuryâ??, began on Sunday afternoon local time with the session on â??Analysing Authority and Leadershipâ??, according to a statement from the Chief Ministerâ??s Office.

Monday morning classes started from 7 a.m. with the cohort taking on several different classes, large class case analysis, and consultative group work. Classes will close late evening, around 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, winter emergency is on in the entire area, with a raging snow storm Fern, marked by snowfall in excess of 2 feet (24 inches) and temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius in the Boston area.

The Chief Minister had left for the United States last week after attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland.

Revanth Reddy is claimed to be the first Chief Minister in independent India to enrol for a program in the Ivy League. The program is titled, â??Leadership for the 21st Centuryâ?? (chaos, conflict, and courage).

He will attend classes till January 30. CMO had earlier said that he will undertake classes, assignments and submit homework, and execute group projects with fellow global participants.

The class will have students from over 20 countries spread across five continents.

The Chief Minister will receive program course certification from Harvard, the first for any current Chief Minister in office in Indian history.

Opposition BJP criticised Revanth Reddy enrolling for the program, questioning the timing and financial prudence of the move.

BJP State chief spokesperson N. V. Subash remarked that leadership is not acquired through short-term courses but demonstrated through governance, accountability, and results on the ground.

"Shouldn't such academic pursuits have been completed earlier in life?" he asked, adding that the Chief Minister's primary classroom today should be the state he governs, not an overseas campus.

Subash further questioned whether the trip reflects a prioritisation of personal aspirations over public responsibilities.

/IANS