Presidential election and the PM Candidates (2)

(KC Kalkura)

Let us examine Telangana and chief minister KCR. The bifurcation of Andhra pradesh and the creation of Telangana, the 29th State of the Indian Union was announced by the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on 30the July 2013. Kalvakurthi Chandrasekhara Rao, (KCR (born 17th February 1954), ) the Velama Leader who led the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) which spearheaded the agitation for a separate state profusely thanked Sonia. He, along with his family members went to Delhi on a chartered special flight to meet and express his gratitude to Sonia.

It was expected by the political circles and analysts that Congress and TRS would fight the 2014 May general elections unitedly. When the elections were announced, KCR came out with true colors, a ditcher, a hypocrite, and a deceiver. He claimed all the credit for the formation of the State and went to the battle of the ballot on his own. He formed the Govt on 2nd June 2014 and the congress remained a weak opposition. The moment he was sworn in, the word Andhra was considered an enigma in the State not only by the people but by the Govt also. Starting on 1 September 1901, Sri Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam in Koti, Hyderabad was a cradle of the nationalist struggle against the Nizam’s rule and a center for the renaissance of the Telugu language. Eminent people in politics, literature, and culture considered it a privilege to address the gathering here.

‘Andhra’ is removed from the name board.  Andhra Mahasabha was a people’s organization in the erstwhile  Hyderabad State.  The organization spearheaded people’s awareness and people’s movements among the Telugu-speaking populace of the state Its first conference was held at Jogipet in 1930 under the chairmanship of Suravaram Pratap Reddy. Pioneering institution, the pride of Telugus of Telangana, was brought into being on 26-5- 1943 under the name of ‘Nizam Rashtra Andhra Saraswatha Parishath’. After the liberation of Hyderabad, it was renamed Andhra Saraswatha Parishad. Now it is Telangana Saraswatha Parishath.

In the composite Madras State, the Andhras fought against the Tamilians and came out with rickety chairs and broken tables. On 1st Oct 1953, the Andhra State came into being. Madras State became Tamilnadu and the City, of Chennai. Yet Andhra Mahila Mandali and many other name boards carrying Telugu and Andhra in the Telugu Language still remain as such in Chennai. But in Hyderabad, Andhra Mahila Mandali was started by the veteran freedom fighter Durgabai Deshmukh, it is Telangana Mahila Mandali. In spite of the express prohibition by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) and Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), Telangana draws water from Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar for irrigation and generation of electricity with the first possible drop of water and till the last available drop of water. It does not matter if water flows into the Bay of Bengal, but when surplus water is let into  Pothireddypadu Head Regulator to quench the thirst of the Rayalaseema people Telangana harps on concocted statistics. The ambitious KCR wants to see his son K.Taraka Rama Rao as the Chief Minister of Telangana.  As he does not like to abdicate power, he is eyeing the National scene.

On the sideline is a quote from ME AND MY TIMES the Autobiography of C.Narasimham, Special Officer for supervising the formation of the Andhra State. “Rajaji gave a farewell party in Rajaji Hall, Madras to all officers who are allotted to Andhra. I wanted to attend this reception, have a look at my family and bring them to Kurnool to witness the historic function on 2nd Oct. But unfortunately, I could not leave Kurnool. My family remained in Madras only. I learned from friends that Rajaji made a very inspiring speech praising the qualities of the head and heart of Andhras and reminding them of the great possibilities of development of Andhra as it possessed inexhaustible resources of water, minerals, ores, etc, and its land area was twice bigger than that of the residual state of Madras. He particularly referred, I was told, to their great quality of honoring their leaders forgetting petty differences.

He was evidently having in his mind how the entire Andhra People demanded that Prakasam should become the first Chief Minister, even though he was then out of congress, the dominant party in the new legislature. He was happy that the separation was smooth, the division of assets and liabilities presented no problem, and that soon Andhra, which was already surplus in food, would become the Annapoorna of Bharath and come to the aid of the states in need. Madras and Andhra, he hoped, would be like mother and daughter rather than sisters.  For the relationship between mother and daughter is more abiding than between sisters.” An iota of this spirit is lacking in KCR. Rajaji was a statesman and KCR is a politician.

A statesman thinks of the next generation and the politician thinks of the next election. When the whole political map of the country was redrawn in 1956, as per the recommendations of the first States’ Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Al Commission), within a couple of years all the outstanding problems were solved. There was statesmanship. Eight years after the reorganization of the Andhra Pradesh State, there are still outstanding disputes. For a person whose vision is confined to Telangana and incapable of adopting a policy of giving and take, aspiring for the Prime Ministerial post is a mismatch!

Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is in deep internal trouble. The overwhelming majority of the legislators are in the opposition camp led by Ekanath Shende. The adamant Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is moving earth and heaven for survival. There must be a virtual split among the members of the Parliament also. This reflects in the Presidential election.

Among the trio, Kejriwal is the youngest, born on 16 August 1968. Are at least the other two prepared for a compromise?

Read Part 1 here

Presidential Election & PM Candidate (1)

All the participant 17 parties have their own differences and contentions with other parties in their own states. No one is prepared to surrender to suitability, acceptability by the people, and efficiency.

If the opposition parties are broadminded and have national interests, the old generation with one leg in the grave must search for some talented new blood with a fairly clean image. There is no dearth. Congress doesn’t think beyond the Gandhi-Nehru family. So it has surrendered Jyotiraditya Scindia to BJP and is testing Sachin Pilot’s patience. Apparently, Sachin is on the borderline of the tolerable limit. Akhilesh Yadav is not a bad administrator. His name does not figure at all in any discussions. Are they shy of his age?

“Combined opposition candidate for the presidential election, Yashwant Sinha, who filed his nomination on Monday, received a setback when at least eight non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties did not send their representatives on the occasion.”

Looking back such efforts were made during the heydays of the Congress also. All remained a shadow fight. Only one seriously contested election for the Presidency was in August 1969. As all of us know the Official Congress Candidate, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was opposed by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. She refused to issue a whip and sought a ‘conscience vote.’ Varahagiri Venkatagiri (VV GIRI) won the battle of the ballot. Leaders have made a mess of politics. Forty percent of absentees from exercising the franchise are literates. Illiterate mass is diligent and shrewd. Money power might have been playing a role in electoral politics. But the will of the people is greater. They made the power position topsy turvy. Now Congress is in the opposition. It is so weak that it is incapable of leading the opposition. Unable to adjust to the changed circumstances, the grand old party is struggling for survival. A conglomeration of opposition and its candidate Yahshwanth Sinha knows full well that it is engaged only in a mock fight against the BJP and the NDA. The Dreaming Prime Ministers will have to wait till the Narendra Modi Era (born 17 September 1950) comes to an end.   (concluded)

(The opinions expressed in this post solely belong to the author)

(K.C.Kalkura, Advocate and Social Activist, N.R.Pet, Kurnool 518004, Mobile: 9440292979 Mail: kalkurakurnool@gmail.com)