BJP leader’s book set to ruffle many a feather

Hyderabad: Senior BJP leader Prof S V Seshagiri Rao’s book expressing his views on the contemporary history has led to a widespread discussion within the party as he questioned the role of some party leaders during the agitation for separate state of Telangana.

Seshagiri Rao’s book - ‘Edu Dashabdalu: Siddhantam to Naa Prayanam’ - touched upon various aspects of the contemporary history during his seven-decade old political life. The discussion on the book, however, has been confined to the views expressed on the situation during the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Rao, who was instrumental in party’s support to Telangana and was one among the two leaders (other being Bangaru Laxman), who drafted the party’s Kakinada Resolution supporting Telangana, said that his eyes had gone wet when he saw the proceedings in the Lok Sabha when the Bill was passed.

The senior BJP leader questioned the role of two leaders -- Ch Vidyasagar Rao (present Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu Governor) and G Kishan Reddy (state president of the party at that time). He questioned the BJP leaders sharing the stage in a ‘Dhoom Dhaam’ programme organised by the people with Maoist ideology in 2010.

Seshagiri Rao pointed out that the BJP had joined the Telangana JAC, which he referred to as a group of people with Maoist ideology, without any discussion in the core committee or other party forums. “After joining the JAC, the BJP leaders started working with Maoist sympathisers and participated in the programmes targeting Seemandhra leaders. There was no objection from the BJP leaders,” he mentioned in the book.

Seshagiri Rao also questioned Kishan Reddy’s statements that the party was ready to work with the Maoists for the sake of Telangana. He referred to Kishan Reddy’s comments in Warangal, “We don’t mind sharing space with Naxalites and working with them to achieve Telangana. Our ultimate goal is separate Telangana.” Rao recalled that he had written to the central leadership stating that the thinking of party cadre would get affected by working with Maoists. Rao criticised the role of the BJP leaders when statues were demolished on the Tank Bund during the Million March.

He also referred to the statements of T-BJP leaders that there were some statues on the Tank Bund which should not have been there and that they would install the Komaram Bheem statue even by demolishing some of the statues. Seshagiri Rao said he had ensured that the seven mandals under the Polavaram project in Khammam district were transferred to Andhra Pradesh by giving a report on this to the party high command.

He said the transferring of mandals to AP was some consolation to the people of Andhra Pradesh. He said party’s state president being from Telangana had also had an impact on the bargaining power of AP. Since the national party had asked the state to give only one opinion, the voice of Andhra Pradesh leaders did not get noticed, he mentioned in the book.