‘No agenda to shield NDA govt’
STRAIGHT TALK The MP said the federal front that KCR is trying to build is a result of lack of political acumen and statesmanship in both the Congress and the BJP NEW DELHI: If you call yourself a national party, you should react to each and every state’s issues. when Telangana members are in the well for 15 days, why doesn’t Congress president address these issues? If you are not addressing my issues, how are you relevant to my region?
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha on Wednesday said that a federal front that her father is trying to cobble up is a result of lack of political acumen and statesmanship in both the Congress and the BJP. In an interview to Hindustan Times, she also dismissed the charge that her party is a B-team of the BJP, saying it doesn’t have any agenda to shield or protect the NDA government in a no-trust vote. Kavitha also said the Congress is no longer a national party today as in some states regional parties are bigger and stronger than it. Excerpts from the interview...
How did this federal front or third front concept emerge?
People of this country have seen enough of the BJP and the Congress and how they function. We have seen various political arrangements which never ever managed to bring any qualitative change in this country. This federal front is not a mere coalition of a few political parties but the idea is to tell the people that it is possible to bring some serious, effective and qualitative change in the country. Our government in Telangana is continuously working for the development of the new state. This June, we will be providing piped safe drinking water to every household. But this country till date doesn’t have any such programme and if the central government does not have schemes like providing drinking water to the people, what have we achieved? We were a power deficit state three years ago and now we have surplus electricity. In next three to four years, we will be able to supply power to half of south India and rest of north India. If a state with a limited budget can plan, execute and deliver, why can’t the nation with unlimited resources do it? There are core issues which the country needs to relook at. KCR sir (Telangana CM) is preparing an agenda for this federal front and once finalised it will be shared with leaders of other political parties.
Are you going to maintain equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP?
The fundamental issue of this front is that neither the Congress nor the BJP could think in a different way in creating wealth in this nation. There has always been an incidental growth or an incremental growth. The lack of political acumen and statesmanship in both the Congress and the BJP has prompted the emergence of an alternative political platform to bring about the change in this country.
But there has also been criticism that your party is soft towards the BJP. Your father, KCR, was among the few nonNDA leaders who supported demonetisation. Was this federal
K KAVITHA, TRS MP
front initiative taken to correct that perception?
We are a new state and we (TRS) ought to have a cordial working relationship and be friendly with any party which is in power at the Centre. Our primary agenda is to work for the development of Telangana. It is incidental that the BJP happens to be in power at the Centre, so we are very friendly with it. On demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST), our leader (KCR) believed that such initiatives will truly work for the nation provided various other supplementary steps were taken, but that didn’t happen so these failed to give the desired results. On the issues of national interest only, TRS has supported the BJP because it is a Union government and not because it is a BJP government. The Telangana CM is a forward looking person and he wants to see the progress of the entire country.
But your party is also accused of helping the BJP by disrupting the proceedings in the Lok Sabha and not allowing the noconfidence motion to be taken up for consideration.
That is absolutely false. From day one, TRS members have been protesting in the well of the House along with YSR Congress Party and Telugu Desam Party. Suddenly, the two parties are trying to play internal Andhra politics in the national arena by giving notices for no-confidence motions. So, how did we support the BJP? Since there was a criticism that we are blocking their no-confidence motions and also because it concerned our neighbouring state, we changed the strategy on Tuesday and sat silently in the Lok Sabha. We never protected the government and we don’t have any agenda to shield the NDA government. We were protesting on the reservation issue and for our distressed farmers.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has maintained that the Congress is the only national party that can challenge the BJP. Do you agree?
Sharad Pawarji is a very senior leader and we certainly respect his idea. But Congress is not bigger than any regional party today. To be called a national party, it has to have a pan-India presence. In many states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, regional parties are bigger and stronger than the Congress. Both the Congress and the BJP don’t matter to us because they don’t represent our regional aspirations. If you call yourself a national party, you should react to each and every state’s issues. Now, when Telangana members are in the well for 15 days, why doesn’t Congress president (Rahul Gandhi) address these issues? If you are not addressing my issues, how are you relevant to my region? If they (Congress) want us to fight the BJP, let them come out with their agenda to bring about the qualitative change in the country. Then we will see.
Are you in touch with the Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and the Shiv Sena?
We are in touch with many parties. It is too soon to reveal that. Many parties were waiting for a neutral platform, so the feeling is mutual. We are hoping that other likeminded parties will come together and join hands for the future of this country.
Are we going to see a repeat of the 1996like situation?
You never know. Politics is very surprising and interesting as well.