Hyderabad: Telangana Jana Samiti president M. Kodandaram has asked the people not to look at the candidates but to vote for the Mahakutami for its agenda that could transform Telangana.
Prof. Kodandaram was speaking about the elections and the development of the state during a ‘Meet the Press’ programme here on Monday.
He said the “dictatorial rule of a family” had blocked development of the state. “Give us a chance, we will show the development of the state and the people. Being in various movements we always want to give people the best,” he said.
Responding to queries about joining hands with the Telugu Desam, Prof. Kodandaram said, “During the Telangana movement, the Telugu Desam did not support us and we faced them as rivals. Now, the state is formed and the agenda has changed with time. As per the agenda, we are joining hands with like-minded parties. The agenda for us now is to bring down the TRS from power and develop Telangana.”
Prof. Kodandaram questioned the TRS claim that the Mahakutami government would be unstable. “The Chief Minister of TRS was stable for all these four-and-half years. Can the TRS show the people the development they achieved? An unstable Chief Minister is far better than a Chief Minister who is dictatorial,” he said.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had no action plan for development and utilised his powers for doing business with the government, he alleged. “We will not rush to Delhi to resolve the problems of the state. When I met Mr Rahul Gandhi he told me that he was working to transform Telangana into a better state and asked me to support them for the cause.”
He said there was a plan to set up a political party from the time of the Telangana Joint Action Committee. “When I announced the political party, many well-wishers and intellectuals said that if we contested on our own that would help the TRS. So, I joined the Mahakutami.” He said there were discussions with the Bahujana Left Front (BLF) but they did not want the Congress in the group.
Prof. Kodandaraam said he did not wish to be Deputy Chief Minister. He said, “Social justice was not done completely in the ticket announcements. But, it is better than in the past. The delay in Mahakutami seat adjustments has done a little damage. We are trying to come out of the friendly contests too. But it may happen in only one or two constituencies.”
He said he would not quit from politics even if the Mahakutami was not voted to power. “Many of the leaders are afraid if Chandrasekhar Rao becomes Minister again. Even now, our phones are being tapped, shadow teams are following us and many illegal practices are being done to win the elections. People should remember that selling a vote is nothing but selling their future, ” he said.
