Emulate TN politicos' 'State First' stance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Telangana and Tamil Nadu on the same day. He flagged off Vande Bharat train in both states. There is more to it than meets the eye. Both the states are ruled by anti-BJP parties. Both want BJP drubbed in the next elections. A curious twist, though, is that DMK is close to Congress, while BRS is opposed to it.

As in Telangana, in Tamil Nadu, BJP and DMK are bitter enemies. Recently, the state BJP head levelled allegations of irregularities and said he would release a "corruption list" against those in the government. Still, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin received Modi and despite being political rivals, their camaraderie was clearly visible. It is a different matter that after Modi left, Stalin said that the rates of Vande Bharat ticket were high and should be reduced.

This camaraderie comes at a time when Stalin is batting for Congress-led opposition unity against the NDA. Let's see the contrast in Telangana. KCR skipped the PM's event and the minister deputed by him appeared least interested during the entire time he was with the PM. There was no exchange of words nor was there any visible eye-to-eye contact between the two.

Even when the Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat train was steaming out of Secunderabad station, the minister did not even wave at the passengers and appeared to be uncomfortable standing there. The BRS leaders and the ministers criticised Modi for flagging off Vande Bharat train, wondering how many times will he flag off the train. They termed his visit disappointing as he did not announce anything special for the state. The CM, however, did not make any comment. Maybe, he reserved his comments for BRS formation day celebration on April 27. BRS party and the government charged that the Centre was providing merely what was due to the state, and that there were no special funds. They questioned why no irrigation project has been given national status. Did the Center at any point of time promise it?

The main contrast between the two Southern states is that Tamil Nadu from the beginning has been known to separate politics from development. As regards projects or schemes from the Center, cutting across party lines politicians show unity. Even the IAS officers get into hyper mode and see that things move. They believe in the concept of 'State First.' But, when it comes to politics, the dueling parties in TN behave like bitter enemies. At the same time, they refrain from the personal criticism of PM even as they take jibes against the Union government in Parliament.

That is why Tamil Nadu has been successful in getting a maximum number of manufacturing units unlike the two Telugu states. Politics with diplomacy is their development mantra and they are not bothered about any model.

Telangana is now in direct confrontation with the Centre. The ruling party claims state is contributing more to the Central pool in terms of taxes than what it is getting in return. Whose money are they giving? It is the taxpayer's money and it is mandatory to give to the Centre and it is equally mandatory for the Centre to allot a fixed share from it to the state. There is nothing special about it. If consumption is high, devolution of taxes from state to Centre would be high. Telangana, if one goes by what the government claims, may be a rich state and can progress even if the Centre "discriminates" against it as the BRS leaders claim, but this formula may not be good for the financial health of the state in the future.