Interview: Not going soft on BRS; BJP will defeat KCR, says Etela

Hyderabad: Once Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s comrade-in-arms for the Telangana movement, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Huzurabad constituency Etela Rajender is fighting a bitter battle with Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

From threats to his workers to police cases, Rajender is being cornered in his constituency. Adding to his woes, his party BJP is facing a slew of disagreements at the local level.

These two events are now being viewed closely in political circles as Rajender is an important man in the Telangana Assembly elections.

In a conversation with News Meter, he affirms his commitment to BJP and says will fight KCR at his home ground. Excerpts:

Q1. Your recent visit to Delhi has sparked a lot of rumors. Did you go to Delhi or were you called by the BJP central leadership?

Ans1. BJP is an organized party. They asked me to come to Delhi to meet the central leadership. I cannot go on my own to meet them. Since they called, I went and met them.

Q2. What was the agenda of your discussion?

Ans 2. The central leadership wants to understand how we can strengthen the party in Telangana. This is the main crux of the party for now. I have given my input for the same.

Q3. There have been rumors that you are not happy with the BJP.

Ans 3. There are lots of rumors all the time. I am with the BJP and will continue to fight against KCR. There are differences in all political parties and these are discussed internally and sorted out. I have put my points across. People are fed up with KCR and they are looking for an alternative.

Q4. After the KTR's Delhi visit, there was a lot of confusion among BJP workers as there were rumors of the party going soft on BRS. What is your take?

Ans 4. There is no such thing. BJP is not going soft on BRS. BJP is very clear that they are going to fight all the seats in the Telangana assembly elections. We are going to take strong steps to take them on. In the BJP, there are no plans for a single individual. Strategy is created for the party per se. Accordingly, a plan is chalked out.

Q5. What is happening in Huzurabad? Your wife Jamuna had a press conference with your loyal supporters. Why was this done?

Ans 5. In Huzurabad, MLC Kaushik Reddy is taking the help of the police and registering false cases against those who are working for me. There were false cases against the sarpanch and other workers. Even women are being harassed. Those who post on social media are being harassed. Why is this being done in my constituency? My wife Jamuna wanted the people to know about this. She informed the people through a press conference.

Q6. While you had the local BJP workers from Secunderabad, Kompally, and your constituency, there were no senior local leaders from BJP seen. Why?

Ans 6. The workers who are with me represent the party. These are BJP ground workers who came to show their support to me. They have been here all day long. I want the BRS to know that I and my party workers are not going to be cowed down by these false cases. BRS is creating trouble in the constituency with the help of the police. They are using the state police force to suppress us. We are not going to be suppressed; we are going to ensure that BRS gets a befitting reply in Huzurabad. They will not be able to enter my constituency.