Even KCR knows calling early polls is a mistake

Hyderabad: P. Sabita Indra Reddy shattered the political glass ceiling and made history by becoming the first woman to head the home ministry in any state in the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy Cabinet. Her husband, the late P. Indra Reddy, was home minister in the N.T. Rama Rao government.

Fondly referred to by the late YSR as ‘Chevella Chellamma’, her constituency was almost always the preferred location for the launch of every programme by the then Congress government. 

Despite belonging to a powerful political family, she did not contest the Assembly elections in 2014 because the eldest of her three sons, Karthik Reddy, was given the party ticket from the Chevella Lok Sabha seat, which he lost.

After biding for a turn in the tidings for over four years under the shadow of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s Telangana state, Ms Indra Reddy is raring to go, reading a deep-rooted angst against the TRS government in the people, and a strong mood and desire for change.

In an exclusive interview, she explains why she thinks the Congress will return to power with a thumping majority and why Mr Chandrasekhar Rao will be consigned to history as a betrayer of the spirit of Telangana.

When you look back at 2014, what do you feel? On the one hand, the successful culmination of the long-cherished dream for a separate Telangana state, but, on the other hand, the complete decimation of the Congress?

The dream for a separate Telangana and its struggle has been very long, much longer than the Telangana Rasthra Samiti. It was led by Marri Channa Reddy garu but we did not succeed. When the movement and spirit became dormant, it was my husband, the late Indra Reddy garu, who sacrificed his political interest to rekindle the spirit and kept it going. KCR inherited it and benefited from the people before him who led the struggle.

But it was the TRS led by Mr Chandrasekhar Rao which succeeded in getting a separate state.

The Congress, led by Mrs Sonia Gandhi, decided we must respect the aspirations of the people of Telangana and fulfil the long-cherished dream. She made the promise at a public meeting in Karimnagar and kept her word, despite anticipating the political losses in Andhra and Rayalaseema. 

KCR led a misleading campaign that it was his achievement. It was the success of the struggle of the spirit and people of Telangana; respected and granted by the Congress.

But the people chose TRS over Congress.

The Congress knew the path to transform the success of the struggle into shaping a great state was long. 

The TRS made several false promises and created a myth: a job for every family, double bedroom houses for all, land for Dalits, drinking water for every household, reservations for minorities, KG-to-PG free education. People trusted KCR and gave him an opportunity. Wherever I go across Telangana today, people are expressing regret for having trusted the TRS.

In his recent address, Mr Chandrasekhar Rao has spoken of delivering on all promises, and working on those remaining. Is the Congress overoptimistic on the premise of promises not kept? After all, if some promises have been half-delivered…

Not a single village has received drinking water from Mission Bhagirathi. We had the vision to deliver water in different ways. We had dug borewells in most villages and delivering water through tankers. He stopped them. We had almost completed drinking water projects. He scrapped it, redesigned it and gave it a new name, all at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. If you take my own direct work in Ranga Reddy district and Chevella, we had water delivered to villages – some from the Godavari, some from the Manjeera. We used local or closer-by sources and delivered water to most villages in Shamshabad, Vikarabad, Tandur, Rajendranagar, including from the river Krishna. In fact, Dr YSR had the foresight to realise that we couldn’t risk having only one source of drinking water for Hyderabad in the long run and brought a Rs 3,500-crore drinking water back-up project to link the Godavari to the city. What did KCR do? He got the HMWS&SB to lay the final pipes from the outskirts through a different route and claimed credit. Everyone knows Mission Bhagirathi is a loot.

When the Congress makes charges of corruption, does it hold water?

It is not just about corruption. It’s also about betrayal. Once we got our separate Telangana, we had a holy mission to build our great state as per the dreams of the people. To lay parallel pipelines to existing pipelines, same diameter, just to enable contracts for his party men and kickbacks for his family is not merely corruption, but also betrayal. He has behaved no differently from any oppressor.

The Congress project, at around Rs 40,000 crore, had irrigated over 16 lakh hectares in (the-then) seven Telangana districts. Doubling that project cost, with a bit of redesign, he has achieved nothing concrete. A man who said he won’t even ask for votes if he did not bring water… yet another lie.

Hyderabad has developed a lot under the TRS. Surely you won’t say no?

We had a vision for Hyderabad and created a structure. We created and left huge land banks for industries to come from Medchal, Shamshabad, Gachibowli, Kokapet, Serilingampally and so on. Under the TRS, barring KCR’s son appearing in newspapers and on TV, what development has taken place? Is there a single good road to sustain during one good rain? Don’t forget we had huge rains during our time too, but people did not have to suffer from such harrowing experiences.

Young voters are crucial to elections. They are attracted to strong and charismatic leaders, and the TRS has not only KCR but a young KTR to reach out during the election campaign. Does the Congress suffer from a weakness on this count?

The youth want jobs. We had a slogan during our struggle – neellu, nidhulu, niyamakalu (water, financial resources and jobs). Water, failed. Money, stolen. It is on jobs front this government will find its biggest rejection from the voters. They promised to fill two lakh government jobs. Another betrayal. They promised 12 per cent reservation for Muslims. They promised a job to every family. Betrayal. At the peak of the agitation, we filled 1.25 vacant lakh government jobs and created over five lakh jobs in private sector through the Rajiv Kiranalu project, with each district having a nodal job officer ensuring private companies filled up jobs with lots of support from the government. Jobless youth will kick out TRS.

Telangana is the first state to transform farming with an investment prior to sowing. Surely, the farmers are happy with Rythu Bandhu?

The Telangana state government is the only one which handcuffed farmers who were agitating for their rights. KCR promised to waive farmer loans up to Rs 1 lakh on coming to power in one instalment. He did it in four, making the famers suffer the interest burden during that time. For the Congress, every person who tills land is a farmer, but not for KCR. Farmers on endowment land, fallow land and forest land were not covered under Rythu Bandhu. Everyone knows that 20 per cent people own 80 per cent land; Rythu Bandhu had people coming in cars, even from the USA, to take cheques. Tenant farmers were left out. This was a desperate attempt by KCR to buy votes in the plain guise of a scheme. 

As a woman leader, how do you see women voters choosing between the Congress and the TRS?

When I was made home minister, women across the state felt proud. Till then, people referred to a homemaker as ‘home’ minister. It was under the Congress that several women from Telangana held such high positions as home, I&PR or industry minister, and not just the women development portfolio. But KCR humiliated and disempowered women completely. It is a shame in today’s world where women are equal in every field, there is not a single woman in KCR’s Cabinet. Why? Does he think women are not competent? Does he not trust women? Or is he afraid of women? Every woman voter in Telangana state knows here is a man who will reverse a wave of women empowerment to keep his daughter ahead in the political race. 

How important are alliances in this election?

This is where the real reason for the dissolution of the Assembly and seeking early elections lies. Aware that the Congress will win in the three states going to polls – MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh – which would have a cascading effect, and of the growing discontent against his government, KCR wants a dubious and clandestine alliance with the BJP and the MIM at the same time. In Assembly elections, the TRS-MIM will partner upfront, while the BJP will be the hidden partner, and other way around for the Lok Sabha.

Your party has an unholy alliance – with an anti-Congress party like the TD.

It is an open alliance. We are not hiding it. If the TRS is confident let it openly ally with the BJP. Every force in Telangana state is coming together to oust a dictatorial force which has betrayed the original cause. The TD has brought the BCs’ angst to the Congress fold, which already represents the huge anger amongst Dalits, women, minorities, and youth.

TRS says it will fight the elections on the plank of atmagauravam against parties which take orders from Delhi or Amaravati.

We have our leadership in Delhi because we are a national party. But why does KCR take his orders from Delhi, from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Why has he staked the pride of Telangana at their feet?

Congress often defeats itself with its leaders fighting itself.

We have inner-party democracy. We discuss, debate and disagree. But we are united in fighting against the dictatorship of one family.

Will early elections help the TRS?

Even KCR knows he has made a mistake by calling for an early dissolution of the Assembly. It is this panic that has set in which is making him go for a dangerous caretaker emergency by foisting false cases against Congress leaders and trying to arm-twist the media from airing public’s voice and truth.

How do you see the chances of the Congress?

The people are viewing this election as another struggle for the Telangana of our dreams. We have to free our state from clutches of a monarchy; the rule of four must end. We will come to power because people of Telangana have resolved to throw TRS out.