HYDERABAD: BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said that BRS was not keen on joining any "front" for the Lok Sabha elections since earlier experiments like the National Front and United Front had failed. He stated that the BRS was ready to work with any party, which supported its agenda.
"Our agenda is simple. We want to bring structural reforms in all sectors. We want to bring qualitative change in India. We want to bring better water, power, irrigation, infrastructure and education policies. We will release our agenda. We will welcome any party which supports our agenda and wants to work with us," Rao said while addressing a press conference at Nagpur on Thursday.
Rao's comments assume significance in the backdrop of attempts by JDU supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar making efforts to bring non-BJP parties together to defeat the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 polls.
When media personnel asked Rao about the possibility of the BRS joining hands with the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) comprising the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) in Maharashtra, he said that he had no such plans as of now.
Asked about the Modi government at the Centre the operation of central investigation agencies like CBI, ED and I-T against opposition leaders, Rao said, "It's not at all good for democracy. Central agencies should not be used to harass Opposition parties. In democracy, all parties should be allowed to thrive. People will decide whom to give power to. Even Modi got a chance to become the Prime Minister because of democracy."
Asked about the demands for creation of more states such as Vidarbha in Maharashtra on the lines of Telangana state, Rao said, "I fully support creation of more states in the country. I had to fight for 15 years to achieve statehood for Telangana. I sat on an indefinite hunger strike and came out of the jaws of death for Telangana. Why should formation of states be such a complex issue? There is a need to bring a scientific mechanism for the formation of new states. We formed 23 new districts from the 10 that existed in order to decentralise administration. It enabled faster development of Telangana."
Rao said that if BRS is voted to power at the Centre, it will implement 33 per cent reservations for women in Parliament and State Assemblies by increasing seats by 33 per cent within one year of coming to power.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a BRS office in Nagpur. Addressing party leaders and workers, he stated that BRS had become a force to reckon with in Maharashtra politics with the enrollment of four lakh party workers within a month. This is set to rise to 40 lakh members by the time the membership drive ends next month, he said.
Rao said that BRS was not just a political party but a 'mission' to change India. He announced that BRS would contest all the elections in Maharashtra and promised to implement the "Telangana model" if voted to power.
They party would dump the existing power, water, irrigation policies in Bay of Bengal as they are faulty and will come out with new policies to put the country on the growth trajectory.
"India has abundant water and coal reserves but successive governments failed to tap them due to which the country is facing shortage of power, drinking water, irrigation even after 75 years of independence. A small state like Telangana is providing uninterrupted power supply to all sectors, tap water to every household within nine years of formation. Why can't it be extended to entire country? The BRS was formed to extend the Telangana model of welfare schemes and development to the entire country," Rao added.
