Interview - Akin to NTR's defeat in the united AP, Congress will bring down BRS to form govt: T Jeevan Reddy

Hyderabad: In 1989, N T Rama Rao led Telugu Desam Party bagged 76 out of 294 seats in the United Andhra Pradesh elections. The tallest leader then, NTR contested from Hindupur and Kalwakurthy assembly constituencies. However, he lost from Kalwakurthy segment. Subsequently, his party lost elections despite being the tallest leader. The same will repeat in 2023 in Telangana. Congress will bag 70 seats and form the next government, thanks to the anti-incumbency and anti-farmer BRS government, asserted 6 time MLA from Jagityal and two-time minister in Congress government Thatiparthi Jeevan Reddy.

Sitting in his old house located in a narrow lane of Jagityal, T Jeevan Reddy, who was first elected in 1983 in the TDP government as an MLA spoke to NewsMeter. He is pitted against ENT specialist Dr Sanjay Kumar of the BRS. BJP has fielded Baga Sravani from the seat. The constituency has a population of around 2.2 lakh voters predominantly from the Padmashali, Munnuru Kapu and, and Goud communities.

Excerpts from the Interview:

1. Why has Congress delayed releasing the list of 119 candidates? Why have many deserving individuals not been given tickets?

A. Please understand that there is huge competition within the Congress. There are several rounds of combing while selecting candidates before the final list is released. All due diligence is followed. One cannot say that a particular candidate is well deserving and others are not. For example, my friend Karam Komi Reddy is a deserving candidate from Korutla. However, the ticket has been given to Narsing Rao. He must be deserving.

2. Today Congress is taking BRS head-on. is it the anti-incumbency of the KCR government or has the party realized that it can fill BRS' shoes?

A. All through the Telangana agitation, Chief Minister K ChandraSheker Rao promised the people that one from each house would be given a government job. Based on these promises, he sought votes and formed the government twice. Unemployment was a burning issue and it continues to be even after 9 years of KCR government. KCR has not failed in providing government jobs, but also in filling up the existing vacancies. It will cost him power. There are currently 2 lakh vacancies. They could not even fill them up even in 20 months before the polls. How the government that boosts progress cannot conduct a simple TSPSC examination? Why has there been a delay in Group 1 exam? Today, the education sector is in the doldrums.

Next is the farmer community that is unhappy with this government. A farmer will seek a Minimum Support Price (MSP) while selling the produce. Though the government is operating paddy procurement centers, for every quintal of paddy, at least 10 kgs of the produce is lost on the pretext of being wet, and rotten by the millers. The government has not been able to control the mafia of rice millers. There is a lot of resentment among the farmers.

3. How will the Congress deal with its infighting because every leader wants to be the Chief Minister? Will the age-old party accept an outsider to be the Chief Minister (TPCC President A Revanth Reddy)?

A. The day TPCC President A Revanth Reddy joined the Congress party, he became a Congressman. We will accept him as the Chief Minister. Why is he seen as an outsider? Even the current Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah joined the Congress party and he was subsequently made the Chief Minister twice. The infighting is in every party. At least the Congress has internal democracy and no autocratic rule. We allow the party leaders to express their dissent and not suppress them like KCR. There may be infighting in the Congress however, everyone is accountable to the high command. They are the final decision-makers.

4. Has Congress been able to address all the issues in its 6 guarantee?

A. The six guarantees — Mahalakshmi, Rythu Bharosa, Gruha Jyothi, Indiramma Indlu, Yuva Vikasam, and Cheyutha — would directly benefit lakhs of poor families cutting across all segments. And these schemes were introduced by the Congress party. The 2 BHK scheme that the present government is talking about, was introduced and implemented by the YSR government. It was the Congress government then that thought of giving pensions to the elderly. The housing program for the poor was taken on a massive scale in saturation mode. Because Congress promised higher pensions, the BRS also increased the per-month payment. Did they not think of increasing it before the 2023 elections?

5. It was your party that pushed for the 33 percent reservation for women. Why didn’t Congress allocate more seats for women in the 2023 Telangana elections?

A. Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi should be credited for the 33 percent reservation for women in the state and general elections. However, the party has not given tickets to women, since most of them need preparation. This time the party is looking to give candidates who will win elections. Many women candidates though deserving, have to be trained in cadre and electoral process. We cannot directly drag them into the field. Once they are through, they will be contenders in the race.