Congress to win 12-14 MP seats in Telangana; BRS only down, but not out, says Dy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

HYDERABAD: The Congress will win 12 to 14 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) vote bank is getting split between the Congress and the BJP. However, the BRS is just down, but surely not out of the race, according to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

In an interview with NewsTAP, the Deputy Chief Minister on Monday attributed the bountiful of crop in Telangana to pumping of water to Sripada Mid-Manair project through Kakatiya Canal from Kaleshwaram Project.

He said ‘Rythu Bharosa’, one of the six guarantees, would be implemented from the next crop season – kharif or vaana kalam. He claimed that the farmers knew how many of them were benefitted from the “Rythu Bandhu” scheme already in the current season, suggesting that 64,75,000 farmers got the Rs. 10,000 assistance and only five lakh farmers were yet to receive.

Excerpts:

How many seats do you think the Congress could win in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?

I am confident that we will win between 12 and 14 out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats. The rest would be shared by others.

Aren’t you overambitious when you claim such a big number?

No. The BRS vote bank is getting split between the Congress and the BJP when it comes to Lok Sabha polls. There were the BRS, the Congress and the BJP in that order at the time of Assembly elections. Now, the order has changed to the Congress, the BJP and the BRS.

Do you mean to say that the BRS is down and out?

The BRS, for now, is down. But, definitely not out. But the people are moving away from the BRS to the other two parties. It's traditional vote bank is splitting in the Lok Sabha elections.

Isn’t the Congress in Telangana digressing from its avowed stand of not encouraging defections from other parties without elected representatives resigning from their posts?

In some cases, we are allowing that. See, the BRS and the BJP leaders have been repeatedly saying that this government would not last long. It may collapse after the Lok Sabha elections. These two parties are trying to dethrone this government. This is not being liked even by some of the BRS MLAs. Hence the defections.

Why could you not manage Congress ticket for your wife Ms Nandini Mallu from Khamam Lok Sabha seat?

There is nothing called managing in the Congress. It’s the party high command that decides these things. So, the final decision will be taken by the party.

But, it’s said that Ponguleti Prasad Reddy, brother of Minister Srinivas Reddy, was given the ticket?

I don’t know about it. No decision has been taken on Khamma Lok Sabha seat as yet.

Or, do you think Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has thrown the proverbial spanner in the works?

It’s not like that. It is the Congress high command that takes decisions on the candidacies for the Lok Sabha elections, taking multiple factors into considerations. So, I don’t think it is true that anybody is hampering the prospects of anyone.

Is Chief Minister Revanth Reddy highhanded in his approach? He reached an apex position and he still chooses to use a language that’s unbecoming of the stature of the post…

Why is he highhanded? He is giving it back only if he is provoked. Otherwise, he talks politely and is very clear in his expression. Having served as the Chief Minister for a decade, KCR is using filthy words. Is it right?

Did you not feel humiliated when you were made to sit on the floor, while Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and others were seated on chairs at Yadadri temple?

Media read too much into that. Though I clarified that I deliberately sat down, I want to make it much clearer. I did a padayatra through several districts before the elections. I went up to Yadadri temple too on padayatra. That time, I had prayed to the God in the temple to give the Congress the strength to solve the problems of the people which were expounded to me during my yatra. And, the God had granted my wish. So, with a view to offering my obeisance and gratitude to the God, I chose to sit down in complete devotion in the prayers.

Our Government has also launched “Indiramma housing” scheme on the same day. Giving a house to the have-nots is a big thing, as they did not have houses for generations together. I also prayed the God to ensure that the programme was implemented in a smooth manner. Therefore, I offered my prayers with utmost devotion and sitting down was my choice.

You haven’t been able to implement all the six guarantees in 100 days as promised by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Several schemes like Rs. 12,000 to farm labourers, Vidya Vikasam, Rs.500 bonus, farm loan waiver, and even Rythu Bharosa were not implemented. When will the Government implement them?

We have implemented free bus ride scheme for women. They are very happy. Crores of women made use of the scheme crores of times and we created a freedom of mobility to women. It is a social revolution, as they are able to go to markets, temples, tourism and, of course, to their workplaces. As the Governement was paying for the free travel, the RTC, whose exchequer was bleeding, became self-reliant. Else, it was on the verge. The RTC is now earning operational profit. We implemented the Rs. 10 lakh for Arogya Sri. We implemented gas cylinder for Rs 500 for women.

Isn’t it true that the beneficiary has to pay for it first and then wait for the reimbursement?

We offered to pay to the gas companies in advance. They declined. So, we are paying the subsidity amount into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries directly through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

There are complaints that in many cases, people are not getting “zero bills” for the free electricity up to 200 units. What is the challenge?

All the eligible beneficiaries are getting it. Wherever they submitted incomplete applications -- like incorrect Aadhar or ration card or other necessary proofs -- during “Praja Palana” programme, were not getting it. However, we arranged in mandal parishad offices to submit proof of eligibility and get the benefit. We have appealed to all those who were not getting zero bills despite the consumption being less than 200 units not to pay the bills and claim the benefit by submitting proofs.

We are not like the BRS which promised double bedroom houses but did not implement for 10 years. All other schemes would also be implemented soon after the Lok Sabha elections.

Telangana has performed very well on most of the economic indicators like GSDP, GSDP growth rate, debt-to-GDP ratio and per capita income compared many states. Telangana has scaled to positions on all these counts even according to the RBI. Then why do you blame the BRS and why did you bring out a white paper on finances?

Well. Even after such remarkable performance, they pushed the State into debt trap. When the State has performed so well, where is the need for the erstwhile government to raise such huge funds, over Rs 7 lakh crore. Where has that money gone? Have they built Outer Ring Road or an International airport or any new university or housing board colonies like KPHB or SR Nagar or major public sector units like BHEL or ECIL or any projects like Nagarjunasagar or Jurala? Where was the money spent?

The BRS built world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation projects, Kaleshwaram, and the agricultural output speaks volumes about it…

You are seeing what happened to it.

It was an experiment where barrages were also used as dams to store water… after all, a rocket by ISRO also fails after one successful launch...

Building barrages is not new. We have seen Krishna barrage, Dowlaiswaram barrage etc. They are still strong. The Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages are used for storage of water. They are like checkdams. There is no canal network built. The bountiful crop yield, you are talking about, is because of the water pumped through Kakatiya Canal into the Sripada Ellampalli project built during the erstwhile Congress regime in the undivided state. It’s in that area the crop yields have come in abundance.

What about the rise in groundwater table and filling of tanks? Isn’t it because of Kaleshwaram?

Over six lakh borewells were sunk in the last 10 years. Is the project meant for irrigating farm lands through canals or to recharge the groundwater table? If irrigation was provided, where was the need for borewells.