Sharmila: Congress sat like lame duck over Telangana

YSR Congress Party leader, Sharmila is all set to up her much-popular Maro Praja Prasthanam padayatra on August 4 after its successful completion.

In an exclusive interview to India Today, the daughter of YSR who conveyed her brother Jagan's message to the masses speaks about the current political developments in the state, people's leader Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Congress and Telangana.

Here are excerpts from the interview...

Q: When your father was leading the state, his views were strongly opposed to the bifurcation of the state, something which today is a reality. Your views.

A: Dr. Reddy had managed balancing welfare and development so well that issues like Telangana and Naxalism were dead. But the existing government has gone about pulling down everything that he stood for, it is all the Congress' doing. And now, what the Congress is doing is wickedness to the core.

Why do you say that?

A: 70 per cent of our population is rural with agriculture as their main occupation. This coastal region, Seemandhra is at the tail end of all the rivers and when the division of the type they are proposing will take place, we fear that this area will turn into another Sahara desert. This is just one of the many issues. Similarly, we feel it is not fair to give the capital which is the economic, educational and industrial hub of this state to one state, Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. We are demanding fairness and justice.

These are mere principles, what are your specific demands?

A: That Hyderabad be either declared a union territory or a joint capital. And ten years is not enough. These are just two issues that I am talking about. There are many more like revenue-sharing. Also, I would like to say that the centre has not done enough to assure that people of Andhra origin that their concerns of safety in Hyderabad in the times to come will be addressed. 

We are seeing that politicians especially from Congress, TDP etc are unable to come to their constituents in Seemandhra and Rayalseema whereas the same can't be said about your party. Seems like it is a politically opportune moment.

We are the only party which is standing with the people, all our MLAs have resigned. Look at Congress, TDP, they are all into double games.

But your critics say you are doing this because your party has no future in Telangana.

Not at all. This is not about electoral issues or politics. This is what my father stood for, a united, prosperous AP.

Even Digvijaya Singh says Congress' decision about Telangana was not about politics. 

(Smiles) Really? What else is this if not a quid pro quo. Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) are in a deal over Telangana. It is just so obvious. Why else was the Congress sitting over this like a lame duck for four years and has now pushed it down our throats now?

There is duplicity in your party's stand. While your father stood for a united Andhra Pradesh, your party has also spoken about acknowledging the sentiments of those in Telangana.

We've always said we honour the sentiment of Telangana. We have no objection to the split being done with fairness and justice.

But again, these are principles. What can satisfy your party in accepting this division?

That is what we asked Congress to do and they never clarified their stand. If they would have, we would have responded. Now they have stated their stand and are pushing it down our throats. This is undemocratic. We want the Congress to have a dialogue with all the stake holders.