Reddy is the spearhead of the Congress's aggressive campaign in the assembly elections. In fact, he is the one who turned it around for a party plagued by infighting and defection till a few months ago.
Reddy talks about his party's chances in the polls, the opposition and the key issues in the state. Excerpts:
Q/ Chief Minister KCR has criticised the Congress by evoking the Babri mosque demolition and the alleged communal riots and killings of naxals during Indira Gandhi's rule. How do you respond to that?
A/ He can go back to the time of freedom struggle and even beyond that and talk about monarchs. But what is the point of discussing it now? We have to learn from history and move forward. That is how politics and governance have evolved over time. People have judged the political consequences of this country, overcame it and made India the strongest democracy in the world. At a time when people want to know what KCR has done as chief minister, he is busy distorting facts and blaming the Congress. His behaviour shows that he has already accepted defeat.
Q/ How seriously will the issue of unemployment influence the polls?
A/ The PRC (Pay Revision Commission) constituted by this government gave a report that there were two lakh vacant government jobs. Whether it was in 1969 or 2009, the street agitations by students and the unemployed youth for a separate Telangana state centred on government jobs. When Telangana was created, the vacant jobs were one lakh, which has increased in the past 10 years and now stands at two lakh. For denying jobs to the eligible youth and destroying their lives, 30 lakh unemployed voters will throw out KCR.
Q/ It is natural for anti-incumbency to set in after nine years. Are the section of voters moving towards you anti-BRS or pro-Congress?
This story is from the December 03, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 03, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
