The BJP has committed to a Chief Minister from the BC community if voted to power in Telangana, said G Kishan Reddy. (PTI/File)
Telangana election 2023: In an exclusive interview to News18, Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy said the party would pick a chief minister from the Backward Castes if voted to power
Days after Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to make him the Chief Minister of Telangana if the BJP is voted to power, the party’s state unit president G Kishan Reddy has denied it.
In an exclusive interview to News18, Reddy said no one has suggested Rajender’s name as the BJP’s chief ministerial face. The Telangana BJP president also touched upon the party’s focus on the Backward Castes community, inaction against BRS MLC K Kavitha and other election issues.
Edited excerpts
Is Eatala Rajender your CM face?
We have many party workers from the BC community. We have many chief ministerial faces. No one has suggested Eatala Rajender‘s name.
Do you think the BJP’s promise of removing reservations for Muslims is going to hurt the party in Telangana?
Quota based on religion is unconstitutional. We will remove the 4% reservation that Muslims have in the state on the first day we come to power. After that, we will increase the quota for BCs, SCs and STs.
People have often questioned why the BJP did not arrest BRS MLC Kavitha in the liquor scam case. This gave rise to speculation that the BJP is helping the BRS. What would you say about that?
The rival parties are cooking up these rumours. In the liquor scam case, ED has started investigations against 126 persons. Among them, 12-13 persons have been arrested. In the National Herald case, AICC senior leader Sonia Gandhi has faced ED and CBI investigations several times. Are the Congress workers demanding that Gandhi should be arrested? This is not an issue about parties, but about agencies. It is not the BJP’s job to keep tabs on who the ED arrests in these cases.
Who is responsible for the devastating fire that claimed nine lives in Nampally?
The construction of illegal warehouses in commercial and residential areas has been an ongoing issue in Hyderabad. For example, in the building where the latest mishap took place, there are 16 residential floors above the warehouse. How did the builder get the permission to construct it? All the major fire mishaps in the last 3-4 years has been due to illegal warehouses.
As a local MP, I have written to the state government numerous times, requesting them to shift the warehouses outside the city. The government did not pay any heed.
The PM has promised a task force to ensure justice to the Madiga community. However, such committees had been set up before too when the TDP and Congress were in power. No concrete step was taken. How will BJP ensure that the demands of the community are fulfilled?
Our task force is not going to determine whether their demands are valid or not. We have already accepted their legitimacy. The task force will see how to overcome all obstacles and bring about the changes in a speedy manner.
The Congress has released a BC declaration. The BRS has Dalit Bandhu scheme. Where does BJP stand vis-a-vis Backward Classes?
We have decided that if the party is voted to power, our CM will be from the Backward Castes. Telangana never had a BC CM. There was a CM from the SC community for some time. BCs form 55% of the population. Every community wants its own members as the next MP/MLA/CM. That’s why we have committed to a CM from the BC community.
After Independence, PM Modi has been the first BC Prime Minister of the country and he is running a successful government.
The Congress has made a series of declarations for the SCs, BCs, minorities etc. Why has there been no Congress CM from the BC community? It’s a matter of shame. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, too, had promised to make a Dalit the CM of the state. What happened to that? The BJP does what it says.
