If one were to look at the state of affairs of Telangana through the eyes of a well-known and respected professor-cum-activist, M. Kodandaram, nothing much has changed. On March 10, 2011, the Chairman of Joint Action Committee (JAC) was detained by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Police while on his way to participate in a ‘million march’ called by pro-Telangana groups. The Congress government, at that time, detained and arrested a number of activists and students to prevent them from assembling on Tank Bund, which is located in the heart of the city.
Towards evening, Kodandaram along with the present Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and a few others managed to make it to the protest site and raise slogans in favour of a separate state.
Fast forward to 2018, the freedom seems more curtailed in the new state for him. Kodandaram, who is still the Chairman of Telangana JAC had appealed to the public to participate in this year’s million march to remember the significance of the day and also the spirit of Telangana movement.
On March 10, 2018, Kodandaram’s house was surrounded by the Telangana police right from the previous night. All the other leaders, employees and activists who pledged their support to him were under vigil or detained.
Barricades were put up on all the routes leading to Tank Bund. Kodandaram was detained right outside his house. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), vehemently opposed celebrations of any kind. Much of it has to do with Kodandaram openly criticising the governance by TRS party. It is a direct fight between him and TRS, as the professor had announced launching a political party to set things right in Telangana.
A year away from state elections, Kodandaram talks about his foray into politics, his new platform and also shares his views about the functioning of the present TRS government.
When will you launch your party and what will it be called?
Due to technical reasons, there was a delay in registering the party. We have finished most of the formalities. We will launch the party in the coming days and make more announcements soon.
Why are you starting a political party?
In the last four years, after the formation of Telangana, we realised that there is a need for an alternative political party. The existing opposition parties, the BJP and the Congress, are not doing a great job. Since coming to power, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and his party failed to show qualitative progress.
How do you rate the present TRS government with K. Chandrashekar Rao as Chief Minister?
People do not have access to the chief minister. There is no way the public can meet and share their problems with him. The administration is on the verge of collapse. Only the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) is active whereas rest of the departments have stopped functioning. KCR does not have respect for government offices or institutions. He is probably the only CM who does not come to office. As a result, hundreds of files are pending. There is no proper implementation of schemes. Agriculture under him is in a bad shape.
What about some of the achievements mentioned by TRS like uninterrupted power supply?
Due to political interference, power is being purchased at a very high cost by the state government. TSTRANSCO and TSGENCO (Telangana’s power transmission and generation corporations) have become economically weak. There is rampant corruption also as a result of the bad policies of this state.
How different will your party be compared to the rest?
We want people to be central to the elections. In the present scenario, political parties give more importance to candidates who want to win the elections. We want to change that. Developmental agenda is critical in the upcoming elections.
Are you open to alliance and did any political party representatives approach you?
We are open to alliance but it is too early to talk about it. We are already in talks with left parties.
What are you going to do about funding, since running a political party can be a costly affair.
I agree that funding is important as some amount of money is required to run a party. We will accept small donations in a transparent manner.
In the past, political parties headed by intellectuals have failed in the state. Best examples are Lok Satta Party and Aam Aadmi Party. How sure are you about your party not going that way?
We should look at success stories. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is one such example. Even AAP in Delhi and TRS can also be called success stories.