‘We brought in a free and fair governance model that Telangana yearned for’

Welcomed into power with huge debts and guarantees that will drain the State resources, the Congress government is facing Telangana society in Parliament elections that has high hopes on delivery of good governance, accountability, abundant employment opportunities, corruption-free government and where the free speech is not attacked.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, in an interview with Ravi Reddy and R. Ravikanth Reddy, explains that the expectations of Telangana society will be respected and fulfilled.

It’s been four months. How satisfied are you with the performance of your government?

We are satisfied more than we expected and so are the people though governance is a continuing responsibility with challenges being thrown up every day. We brought in a free and fair governance model that Telangana yearned for. Governance is visible and not confined to one building unlike the previous government.

Chief Minister and other Cabinet colleagues are available for people to meet, they are reviewing their departments regularly thus instilling discipline among the employees and hopes among the people. In a welfare State like India, we have to be interactive. Most importantly, we are setting right the democratic systems and channels that were destroyed under the BRS regime.

You were handed over an emptied State exchequer according to your White papers. How will you manage the six guarantees now?

At the time of Bifurcation we were a financially surplus State. After 10 years we are left with a debt of ₹7 lakh crore and the interest that we need to pay on them is enormous. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) did not spend money on creating infrastructure but on projects like Kaleshwaram whose utility value is in question. The Bhadadri and Yadadri power projects are a burden.

The BRS demolished the entire financial strength of the State without planning. They might have done it deliberately to loot the State. People should know it and that’s why we released the White papers in the House. We are trying to set right with proper financial discipline but it will take years to clear the mess left behind.

Mr. K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s government spent irrationally and with a feudal mindset. When power was available cheaper they paid ₹20 per unit and now we are buying it at ₹10 per unit. The then government never bothered to look at alternative power sources like solar and renewable, which are much much cheaper. Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, the government did not even have a policy on alternate energy.

On the administrative front you have brought visible changes. But on the political front how strong are you given that the BRS and BJP are ‘threatening’ to topple your government?

We believe in democracy. The trait of any democracy is to have a government and a good Opposition. These two organs are very important. People gave a verdict and the BRS and the BJP must respect it. But their mindset seems to be different and they are trying to destabilise the government. We are not incapable fellows to sit and watch this undemocratic attitude. We are experienced in tackling such situations and we will govern for five years maintaining all democratic systems.

If Congress is strong why are you roping in leaders from other parties?

We are not luring them. BRS leaders have realised that their party will not sustain and it will become irrelevant to Telangana. So they are approaching the Congress as they too feel BJP’s growth is not good for a democratic, secular and socialistic attitude of Telangana society. We will not turn away those who want to join the Congress, as the other option for them is to join the BJP, which is a danger to Telangana.

General perception is that senior leaders are not defending Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who is being attacked by both the BRS and the BJP?

This is utterly false and rubbish. Revanth Reddy is the CM and head of the Telangana Congress, which is quite strong. The BJP and theBRS want to malign him only to destabilise the Congress and his strength. Why will Mr. Revanth Reddy join the BJP? BRS doesn’t have anything else to talk about. So they are depending on these baseless statements to grab media attention. Entire Congress leadership is behind the Chief Minister.

Congress did remarkably well in the Assembly elections. Within six months it is facing another big election. Where do you see yourself in these elections?

When people elect a government, they expect better governance, freedom and a fearless atmosphere, and one which doesn’t loot its resources and its wealth. They expect an equitable share of power and resources. Congress has given all that fulfilling the guarantees and it will continue. After 10 long years, people are speaking without fear. In such a happy situation why would people vote for any other party. We will bag 12 to 14 seats comfortably.

They are not debating relevant issues. The BRS and the BJP fielded weak candidates to help each other wherever they felt they could give a fight to the Congress. We are fighting the BJP/BRS bloc. The BRS has realised its time is over, so has joined hands with BJP.

BJP wants to capture Telangana and make inroads into South. BRS is behind them and we are determined to stop BJP right here. Progressive and democratic State like Telangana will never accept BRS/BJP plans.

Will Prime Minister Modi be a big factor in Telangana?

Telangana people know the false promises and disharmony which BJP and Modi want to create in society. Mr. Modi promised a clean economy after demonetisation but it proved to be a disaster. Show me one Modi scheme that changed the lives of people. Congress brought MNREGA, RTI Act, Right to Food Security, and Right to Education. Mr. Modi has only instilled fear in society and that is his biggest contribution. Where is the debate in the country except bombarding the young minds with filth.

How serious is the Congress government about the alleged phone tapping during the BRS regime?

My basic concern as an independent citizen is I want my private life and privacy and the government cannot enter into it. Phone tapping is for tackling terrorists and protecting the country’s sovereignty. It cannot be used for personal gains and political opponents. The BRS government targeted Congress leaders, journalists, employees and businessmen. Government cannot do illegal activity and we will deal with it as per law. And it will be a political issue.

What are the likely issues that Congress wants to project in the elections?

Congress believes in providing good governance and distributing wealth to all. The five guarantees implemented shows our commitment. The party believes in creating infrastructure and irrigation projects. We are planning and prioritising the pending projects. Unlike KCR we can’t be irrational in our approach. For example, when cheaper power is available at ₹5 per unit, KCR is now demanding us to go for NTPC project where we have to pay ₹10 per unit.

Are you following revenge politics to target KCR by ordering judicial inquiries into Kaleshwaram project and the power projects?

Definitely not. We are looking at the schemes and decisions of the previous government, which are a burden on the State, we have the responsibility to inform the people. Taxpayers need to know why the Kaleshwaram project almost collapsed. In the Bhadradri project KCR govt used sub-critical technology that was banned long back by the Centre. In the Yadadri project, the transport of coal from the mines itself is a huge burden.

BRS has been claiming that the vote gap was just 1.80 % between Congress and BRS and so it is not a vote against them. Where did KCR go wrong?

There is a huge percentage gap in the rural voting where Congress secured massive votes. The very idea of a separate Telangana State was to get self-respect, water, jobs and usage of our resources for the State. In 10 years KCR never bothered for employment or utilise the natural resources.

Telangana society yearns for free speech that was suppressed by a police raj. The financial indiscipline has destroyed the State which began as a surplus State. KCR brought loans at a huge interest rate of 11% and 12%. This is unacceptable to society.

In the last three months, we paid ₹26,471 crore as interest and part of the principal on the loans raised. Just before the elections, KCR leased out the Outer Ring Road for 30 years and he is trying to fool people that he left ₹7,000 crore for Rythu Bandhu. But the RBI balance sheet says as of December 7, Telangana had a negative balance of ₹3,963 crore. Who has spent it and where did they spend it? People were fed up with such open lies and decided to vote out the BRS.