I am a warrior and a fighter, thunders Rajgopal
This election is about self-respect. I was severely slandered by the TRS government
Munugode: Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy is a man besieged by the TRS and the Congress as he battles to drive home his message to the Munugode electorate that his resignation was all about them, getting the constituency developed, and of course, ending "dictatorial rule" of TRS and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana.
He took a break from campaigning on Friday and spent most of the day speaking with his devoted supporters, BJP members and local party leaders about election-related topics. Rajgopal Reddy spoke with Deccan Chronicle during the hustle and bustle of a "break day" about what this election means to him and, in his words, "for the state".
Excerpts:
Q. You are competing against Palvai Sravanthi of the Congress and Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy of the TRS. What message, if any, would you like them to receive from you?
A. The problem is that they are contesting without understanding why. The TRS candidate has no idea; during his five years as MLA, he did nothing to help Munugode. Under his leadership, there was no advancement. They are just involved for the sake of their political future; nothing else. I don't personally have any malice or hostility toward them. My fight is against the KCR family's dictatorship. And Munugode will drive this change.
Q. You have been branded "RG Paul" by the TRS for your social media posts. Why do you think that is?
A. I don't want to respond to that question. I am a fighter, a warrior. TRS is frightened of me right now. If not, why do Munugode's 100 TRS MLAs and ministers need to form the "Kaurav Sena"? Why is KCR afraid of me? The question is who is the joker, broker and cheater. And they are KCR and KTR. Here, Rajgopal is the warrior and fighter.
Q. Is there any BJP leader that you would like to campaign for you?
A. Everybody from BJP in Telangana is campaigning for me, be it Bandi Sanjay, D.K. Aruna, Muralidhar Rao, Kishan Reddy, and every other BJP member. I'm delighted and am welcoming everyone to join the campaign. As far as Central BJP leaders are concerned, Amit Shah has already come. I have requested party president J.P. Nadda to address a public meeting on October 31. He said he is tied up with elections in Himachal Pradesh but that he will try and make it.
Q. Which section of the voters worry you the most? Who do you think you still need to convince?
A. I am not worried about this aspect at all, everyone is with me. This election is about self-respect. I was severely slandered by the TRS government. I fought for the development of the people who elected me, but the government never responded. I never received a single appointment with KCR, despite being an MLA. They took our 12 MLAs, and killed the Opposition. The judgment here will bring change in Telangana.
Q. TRS is using your comment that you could not do anything in four years, and asking what is that you can do now?
A. In four years, KCR removed the opposition, suppressed our voices. I am the only MLA who spoke the most about the constituency. KCR throttled voices like mine. When I met with Amit Shah, I discussed Munugode's backwardness, lack of roads, hospitals, skill development centre, sought a handloom textile cluster, and Mudra loans for women. Shah said the BJP government will surely help in development, and support Munugode.