Months after leading the Congress to a stunning victory in the Telangana Assembly elections, Anumula Revanth Reddy, 54, has been spearheading the party’s campaign in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. He is one of the key leaders the Congress is banking on for boosting its prospects in South India. In a free-wheeling interview with The Indian Express, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy speaks on various burning issues ranging from the recent row over Rahul Gandhi’s pitch on caste census and redistribution to the North-South divide. Excerpts:
You have come to power with an absolute majority. How are you planning to maintain that momentum?
There’s a two-way strategy. One is implementing our guarantee schemes. We are implementing whatever we have promised to the Telangana people. Of the six major guarantees, we have implemented five schemes. It was a semi-final in which KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao)’s party (BRS) was defeated and the Lok Sabha election is the final match. In the state election, we had defeated KCR and his politics. Now the final is here. Narendra Modi has ruled this country for 10 years, but he has never fulfilled what he has promised. The 2014 (AP) Reorganisation Act had promised Telangana certain things for its development, but the Centre has not implemented any of them. He (Modi) has never respected the resolutions made by the central government. I am trying to enlighten the people that Modi is anti-Telangana… he had abused the Congress for Telangana formation. It was the Congress that had passed the Telangana formation bill. After opposing the Telangana formation, how can he come here and ask for votes from the state?
What are you focusing on in this election? Do you want to hold back the BJP or do you want to consolidate your position?
In the state elections, it was KCR vs Congress. And in the national election the fight is against the national party and Narendra Modi. So, it is crystal clear that I have to fight against Modi and the BJP.
There have been talks about a North-South divide. Do you think there are issues other than language differences that have resonance on the ground?
Yes, certainly. As an elected member of Parliament I had observed Narendra Modi. Gujarat has 26 representatives in the Lok Sabha but he has given it seven Cabinet ministers. Putting together, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, have 42 representatives in the Lok Sabha, but the region had only one minister in the Union government. Telugu is the second largest speaking language in India after Hindi but it got only one representation. He has given 12 (ministers) to Uttar Pradesh, also given good representation to Rajasthan and Bihar – all Hindi speaking states.
You talk about Budget allocation. Out of one rupee (from Central allocations), we are getting only 43 paise whereas Bihar gets Rs 7.05. For UP, it is Rs 6 plus. What is this discrimination? The resource distribution is not on fair terms.
You were trying to get Rahul Gandhi to contest from Telangana. Why didn’t he agree?
The state party had passed a resolution requesting Sonia Gandhi to contest from Telangana. But she got elected to Raja Sabha. Then we asked Rahul Gandhi to contest because the state is grateful to the Congress party and Sonia Gandhi for the formation of Telangana…but they declined to contest.
The BRS seems to be losing ground in Telangana and the BJP is trying to gain it. How are you countering it?
This is a national election, and the BRS does not have much stakes in it. The BRS has bargained with the BJP in five seats for KCR’s daughter K Kavitha who is in jail now. That’s the reason the BRS has fielded very weak candidates in five seats to help the BJP. KCR is not campaigning in those constituencies also. So in a way, of the 17 parliamentary seats, KCR is supporting the BJP in five seats to get a bail for Kavitha. So I have to explain this to people. I will talk about discrimination and North-South divide and their anti-Telugu stance to people. We will talk about the BJP-BRS alliance.
Rahul Gandhi spoke about the caste census issue. The BJP has alleged that the Congress wants to take away from the backward class quota to give reservation to Muslims. Is it difficult for you to explain caste census to people?
Modi got a doctorate in telling lies and untruths. We are not going for an asset assessment after the caste census. It’s a count of population, not wealth. Our party had nationalised all the private banks – that’s our record. Our governments had given SC / ST reservation and quota for the OBCs. After the Mandal Commission report which recommended 52 % reservation and the Supreme Court asked how can the reservation be given without the numbers, how will you conclude their numbers. SC was given 15% quota, ST 7.5% and OBCs could be given a maximum 27%. The upper quota limit was set at 50%. If you want to move that cap, you need to get a census done to see how many OBCs are there. We want to do that census and based on the population we want to give reservation. We want to allocate more funds for these communities. That’s all that we said. But Modi is saying that we are going to snatch Mangalsutra and a second house. Is it possible? There are rules for everyone while giving away their properties. Modi was a chief minister for 13 years and he has been PM for 10 years. But he is just bluffing now. He is misinterpreting and telling lies.
Modi wants to divert funds to corporates. He wants to protect crony capitalism. The BJP is a corporate political party and their interest is to protect the corporates.
Why do you allege that the BJP does not give funds for the backwards?
The BJP is one of the affiliates of the RSS. Everyone knows what is RSS stance on the reservation. The BJP’s core ideology is that of the RSS only. They do not want the reservation because they do not want to divide the Hindus in different categories. They want to address the Hindus as one. Modi is conveniently not citing this and other parties are not questioning him on this either.
Some southern states seem to have concerns about their representation in Parliament following delimitation. Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin has written to the PM about it. How serious is this concern?
Yes, certainly there is apprehension. But we have to see the terms of reference of the Delimitation Commission. If delimitation is based on the population, we are going to lose a high number of seats from the South. If it’s going to be a proportionate increase on the basis of existing seats, we are not going to lose anything. We have to see how it’s going to be. It’s a worry because political power is your political bargain.
The relations between the Centre and the state was really low during your predecessor (KCR)’s rule. But you seem to be striking a different note. How do you see the Centre-state ties now amid the BJP- Congress conflict?
Party politics is very different from the governance politics. I can differentiate between the two. When I am addressing my party members as a PCC chief in a party meeting, I am a Congress politician and I talk in political language. when I am sitting in my Chief Minister’s chair, I have to see things differently and speak the CM language.
You have said Rahul Gandhi’s comments on redistribution has been misinterpreted. But there is a chronology to it. He talked about caste census, then concentration of wealth, inequality, which has fuelled confusion. How do you explain this?
What Rahul Gandhi said has nothing to do with private wealth or properties. There is no confusion in it, but the BJP is trying to create confusion among the voters about my party. The state exchequer, the Government of India exchequer is different from the private wealth. Rahul Gandhi is speaking about the government’s wealth. He wants to distribute it among the needy and whoever is deserving. Now the BJP is distributing that wealth only to corporates. That is the difference between Rahul Gandhi and the BJP. Because of this reason BJP is afraid that if Congress comes to power, it will not give it to Adani or Ambani and or their other corporate friends. Their corporate friends are going to lose. Under the BJP-led NDA government, the Rs 16 lakh crore worth PSUs and Navaratnas have gone to the corporates for Rs 6 lakh crore. If the Congress comes to power, it’s not going to happen. That’s the BJP’s worry actually. “Adayam penchu, pedaluku panchu” (increase government revenue and distribute it among the deserving poor) – that is the objective of the Congress party.
KCR had called the Kaleshwaram irrigation project a lifeline for creating a “golden Telangana”. What is the status of the project after structural defects were found?
Kaleshwaram has turned out to be an absolute disaster. Improper planning and execution has caused the biggest damage to the structures of Medigadda, Sundilla, and Annaram barrages. KCR did not apply his mind when planning this project, he either did not heed the advice of technical and structural experts and due to his lack of understanding of this project we have lost everything. Now he has to pay. The project has turned out to be a purposeless expenditure. Over Rs 1 lakh crore is stuck in a project whose structures are crumbling. We can only estimate the damage of the visible portions above the water – what is the damage to the structures under the ground is yet to be revealed. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) is yet to submit its report. We will take a call on what to do after that.
Five months after forming the government you face a big challenge in tackling the water shortage situation, do you think it is going to have a big impact on the election and your government?
This water situation is not just in Telangana…. this drought-like situation is prevailing in the region covering parts of Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. People know that there has been a deficient rainfall. But as of now we are able to provide drinking water to all the cities, towns, and villages across Telangana. People are getting drinking water supply, so I don’t think this will have any impact on the Lok Sabha elections here.
What is the status of implementation of the Congress’s six guarantees in Telangana? There are some complaints that the beneficiaries are not getting LPG cylinders for Rs 500.
We have rolled out Mahalaxmi Scheme under which women are able to travel in government buses for free. This initiative is a huge hit among women. My government is paying Rs 350 crore per month to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) as reimbursement for implementing this scheme. So far my government has paid Rs 1369 crore for this scheme. We have already started giving monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,500 to single women and eligible beneficiaries. We are also giving LPG for Rs 500 per cylinder as promised. To ensure that there are no glitches in reimbursement of the LPG subsidy, we are depositing Rs 150 crore every month with the LPG distribution agencies so that the beneficiaries are not bothered, and they get the cylinder for Rs 500 as we had promised. About 40 lakh beneficiaries are getting the LPG cylinders for Rs 500 only. Free electricity up to 200 units is also running. Implementation of Rythu Bharosa and Indiramma free housing are under process.
Your government presented a White Paper in the Assembly on the dire state of the state’s finances. How are you going to fund your schemes?
KCR had mismanaged spending, in fact he did a lot of purposeless spending. I am trying to increase revenues by regulating GST collections, VAT etc. Our GST collections have improved to Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore per month and we are aiming for Rs 2,000 crore per month or Rs 24,000 crore per year. We are also regulating bulk fuel supply from neighbouring Karnataka where VAT is less. We will increase revenues to fund our schemes.
A number of BRS legislators and leaders are reported to be in touch with you. What do you think is happening in the BRS?
BRS MLAs and leaders and cadre have lost confidence and faith in their leadership. What this will lead to, we have to see. I cannot say if the party will be finished, it is too early to say.
