Rahul’s visit energised State Cong: Uttam

The Telangana State Congress which received a new boost following Rahul Gandhi’s visit is confident of winning GHMC elections. Next Mayor of Hyderabad will be from Congress, asserts TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy in an exclusive interview with Md Nizamuddin

• PCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy confident of bagging Hyderabad Mayorship
• Holds TRS govt responsible for farmer suicides
• Rahul’s visit reiterated Congress’ pro farmer stance

Rahul Gandhi's visit to State has sparked a big debate. TRS and other parties allege that Congress which was responsible for farmer suicides was now blaming the infant government. What is your comment?

That is not true. As per our information, Telangana in its first year under TRS regime has witnessed more farmer suicides than any State ever in Independent India. It is certainly the TRS government which is responsible for the farmer suicides. Because of their lack of experience or wrong priorities the agriculture in State is pushed into crisis and farmers are in complete distress.

More important is that the government is not even realising the gravity of the situation. They are going with wrong figures both in Parliament and Assembly. They are not even willing to give actual figures. If the crop damage is caused by a natural calamity, it is definitely the government of the day, which should be held responsible. If the suicide took place during the Congress time, we stand responsible. There is also criticism that Congress has organised the Rythu Bharosa Yatra to rejuvenate the party which had suffered a setback following some leaders migrating to TRS.

To what extent has it succeeded in rejuvenating the state unit ?

Definitely Rahul Gandhi’s tour achieved two things. We were able to express our solidarity with farming community. We were able to say that the Congress is pro agriculture and pro farmer. We were able to instill confidence among the farming community at large. In a nutshell it means to give bharosa that we are with you, you are not alone, there is no need to be hopeless.

That was the number one priority of his tour, which was achieved. Yes, it is a fact that his visit to the State has given new enthusiasm and direction among the entire Congress party rank and file in Telangana. Due to the programme indirect benefit was rejuvenation of the party throughout the Adilabad district.

Have you been able to bring coordination among senior party leaders and see that all stand united on the issues?

We were able to bring together all the senior Congress leaders who involved themselves from preparatory stage till the conclusion. We involved all Congress leaders in designing and successfully executing the programme. Everybody put united effort to make padayatra a success.

There is criticism that people who participated in the padayatra were not locals but were mobilised from various districts. Is it true?

That’s not true and it’s unfair criticism. I am direct witness to this. There was overwhelming participation from the local farming community and local Congress cadres.

You said Rahul will be visiting Hyderabad soon. Will he be holding meeting with party leaders only or is there any other programme like public meeting?

Rahul Gandhi will be again visiting in the month of June. This time his visit will be in and around the City. There are several invitations including from student leaders. He will visit Press Club of Hyderabad, he will interact with student leaders and will also interact with party cadre. He will interact with local leaders also at a meeting to be held at Gandhi Bhavan.

How do you propose to fight TRS during GHMC elections? The city leaders do not seem to be aggressive these days, unlike other parties?

Yes, we received a setback in the general elections in the GHMC area and also lost MP and MLA seats. Temporarily there is a lull in activity in the GHMC area, but we have already started gearing up and preparing our cadre for the elections. And I am quite confident that we will do well in the upcoming elections and the next Mayor of Hyderabad will be from the Congress party.

What about MLC elections? When is the candidate going to be announced? Will it be before 22nd or before last date of withdrawals?

As of now, the issue is with Congress party High Command. They are most likely to announce the candidate on May 19. The party high command is to scrutinise the list of candidates and take a decision.