Eatala Rajender, former BRS leader and minister, is BJP’s candidate from the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat in Telangana. Despite losing from two seats in the assembly election, Rajender, who was once a close aide of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has been given the responsibility of one of the most cosmopolitan seats in the state.
In a conversation with News18, the BJP leader makes a sensational claim that not only BRS, but the present Congress government too is tapping the phones of legislators. He also shares his plans for the development of Malkajgiri.
Edited excerpts:
How confident are you of victory?
The people of Malkajgiri have already decided that they want Narendra Modi as their prime minister. They know that I am an experienced person who fought for Telangana statehood, and worked as finance minister and health minister in the erstwhile BRS government. The people have already taken a decision to make me the winner so that their constituency sees unhindered growth.
What are the main issues plaguing this LS segment?
Malkajgiri is a newly expanded part of the city. There are no drains, roads, water pipes or 2BHK housing for the poor. Traffic congestion is high which needs to be addressed by building skywalks and a metro line towards Medchal. However, the biggest issue is unemployment. There are only a handful of software companies here. If voted to power, we plan to expand the IT footprint of the city to that area and generate employment opportunities. Many youths with degrees are unemployed because they lack certain skills. We plan to develop skill centres to provide training to these youngsters. Also, the issues pertaining to its adjoining assembly seat, Secunderabad Cantonment, can be solved only by the Union government. That is why people are keen to choose BJP.
Did BRS fail to develop Malkajgiri in the last 10 years?
I will not say that the BRS did not work at all in the last 10 years. The main reason behind their defeat is not their incompetence, but their attitude. They became arrogant and power was centralised among a few members of the family. Congress did not come to power in Telangana because they showed promise. Voters just wanted to bring down arrogant KCR, and that is why the Congress managed to form the government.
However, we are already witnessing the present government’s failures in the state. All crops dried up within two months of them coming to power; the city is witnessing unprecedented power cuts. Their coffers are empty and they are unable to pay salaries to the staff in the electricity department. Contractors who have taken up government projects are not getting paid.
BRS has denied that they tapped phones of opposition leaders.
We have reports to confirm that phone tapping was done. Not only the BRS government, the present Congress government too is tapping the phones of legislators. This is a wrong practice. They are allowed to tap the phone of anti-social elements, but not those of MPs and MLAs.
In a recent public meeting in Tukkuguda, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his party will conduct a survey to redistribute wealth of wealthy Indians. What would you say about that?
In 75 years of post-independence India, the Congress held power for more than 40 years in this state. They did not do anything of this kind at that time. So, who is going to believe them now? The Grand Old Party prides itself over taking part in the freedom struggle. However, they did not fulfil what was promised in 1950. During the adoption of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar talked about ‘development with equal distribution of wealth’. Why has that not been done till now?
BRS is going hammer and tongs after Congress over defection of leaders. Do you think this practice should be encouraged?
We know how the phrase ‘Aaya Ram Gaya Ram’ was coined in Haryana. To keep such party-hopping in check, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the anti-defection law. However, it’s an irony that BRS is asking for disqualification of defectors today as KCR played the same game after 2018 elections. Even after winning 88 seats, he engineered defection from the Congress. The Congress, which was in the opposition, had objected to it. Now, the roles are reversed. Both parties are in the wrong. Why did an MLA who won on BRS ticket recently jump ship to the Congress? The public is watching everything and they will teach these parties a lesson in the elections.
The Telangana Bhavan is being renovated allegedly to conform to Vastu norms. Since you were close to KCR, can you throw some light on his fixation with Vastu?
KCR is an ardent follower of Vaastu and Panchangam. He rarely does anything without consulting these. However, we all have seen the results. He built a new Secretariat for himself following Vastu rules, but that did not help him. He faced a humiliating defeat. These disciplines do not help leaders. Leaders should have the guts to do what they promised the public. One should serve the public and seek their blessings. Political leaders cannot use the public just to garner votes and then vanish as soon as they come to power. People lost faith in KCR because he did not fulfil the promises he made.
You attended an Iftar dawat thrown by Bohra Muslims recently. The general outlook here is that the prime minister is anti-Muslim…
PM Modi is not against any community. The Bohras are ardent admirers of our prime minister. They consider Modi-ji a part of their family. PM Modi is not anti-Muslim, he stands only against anti-social elements and dynasty politics. Look at the love he receives from Gulf countries. He is the best embodiment of our slogan — “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas”.