Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay is credited with bringing momentum for the saffron party in Telangana while he was the BJP’s state unit chief. In an interview with DH’s S N V Sudhir, the BJP’s Hindutva poster boy in Telangana accuses the Congress of actively seeking to “inflame communal tensions”. Excerpts:
What is the mood in Telangana?
We expect at least 12 seats in Telangana. There is a strong desire sweeping across the state to see Modi again as the PM. The people are looking at Modi for stability, national security, development and welfare schemes. Farmers are looking for a BJP government at the Centre for subsidies, MSP, and schemes such as Kisan Samman Nidhi. Ram mandir and the abolition of Article 370 are also helping us gain support.
Congress has been saying Centre has done nothing for the state in the last decade. You response?
On the floor of the Assembly, current Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues have openly said that the previous government led by the BRS failed to cooperate with the Centre on so many issues, due to which Telangana endured losses in many aspects. This establishes that the Centre was ready to do a lot for Telangana, but the previous government in the state was not forthcoming.
The Congress has been saying the implementation of ‘Six Guarantees’ will help them secure maximum seats in Telangana. Your take?
Congress, in the name of guarantees, cheated voters in both Telangana and Karnataka. In Telangana, they said that within 100 days of coming to power, they would implement the ‘Six Guarantees’. But where is the Rs 2,500 per month for women? What happened to the Rs 4,000 per month social security pension? What happened to the farm loan waiver? What happened to Rythu Bharosa for tenant farmers?
The Opposition has been saying that if re-elected, the BJP will change the Constitution and remove reservations. You response?
It was Congress that didn’t respect the Constitution. Indira Gandhi’s Congress imposed the Emergency, violating the spirit of Dr B R Ambedkar’s Constitution. The BJP gives the highest respect to the Constitution. It was the BJP that was instrumental in bestowing Bharat Ratna on Ambedkar and installing a portrait of him in the parliament. India elected a Dalit and an Adivasi as Presidents. The Congress is engaged in disinformation campaigns. We are now playing the Indian Political League (IPL). While the BJP is confident of scoring 400 points, the I.N.D.I. Alliance doesn’t have a captain to play.
Congress leaders have been claiming that the BJP is reverting to communal politics by suddenly bringing in the topic of Muslim reservations. Your take?
The BJP opposes religion-based reservations which are against the Constitution. Congress is saying it will implement Muslim reservation; for whose votes are they promising it? Congress boasts of secularism but looks to a section of the minority for political gains. While we work for all sections of the society and adhere to the Constitutional provisions, we are branded as communal. However, the Congress which openly endorses and supports Muslims, is a secular party. How is it justified? It is the Congress that is communal, not the BJP.
Who is BJP’s electoral rival in Telangana? Congress or BRS?
It is Congress. BRS is nowhere to be seen. Both BRS and Congress are fighting for second place. They also have a clandestine understanding with each other to defeat the BJP.