TG formation day fete: KCR’s abstention cuts no ice

Telangana completed 10 years of its formation and has entered the 11th year. Since this also happens to be an election year, the aspirations and expectations of the people have further risen. While it took the people seven years to evaluate the performance of the previous government led by BRS and opt for the Congress party to try them for the next five years, the present government has been put on test from day one.

The present regime needs to give up the old Congressculture and be hyper active in implementing all the promises they made or else sooner than later they would find themselves in soup. Once, the Lok Sabha poll results would be announced, the honeymoon period for the government would end and the time for governance would begin.

The Chief Minister apparently understands this and also knows the hurdles he has ahead of him and thus in his public address on the occasion of formation day he announced his road map, explaining how he proposes to take the state forward. He also showed magnanimity in recognising the role of not only the martyrs but all those three women – Sonia Gandhi who took the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh; Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and “Chinamma,” the then leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj of BJP – who made the formation of the state a reality.

But it was disappointing to see that the leader of opposition K Chandrashekar Rao and his party decided to boycott the formation day celebrations. It would have been a magnanimous move if he had accepted the invitation of the state government that was specially extended to him and participated in the celebrations. If he had felt that there were some shortcomings or mistakes committed by the government, he should have taken the opportunity to take on the Chief Minister in the Assembly when it would soon be meeting for a full-fledged budget session to be held soon.

KCR is no ordinary leader. Whether one likes it or not, it was he who had ignited the second struggle for a separate state and continued it in a democratic manner till the goal was achieved. He has been successful in creating and leading a massive agitation for separate state. I remember the day when he quit the assembly and was contemplating to announce the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samiti. In his very first interview to me at his residence, he said unlike the1969 agitation this would be peaceful and would be held in a democratic manner. At that point of time, it was difficult to believe what he said. Nevertheless, he proved what he was right.

This being the background, it was disappointing to see that he decided not to participate in the formation day celebrations. He may have his own reservations regarding the government policies and the “Congress tendencies and its poverty of sentiments,” but all that could have been used as ammunition in the Assembly and the message to the people would have gone in a much effective manner. By writing a long letter explaining why he was boycotting the celebrations, he has sent a wrong impression that the BRS was unable to digest its defeat in the elections. The formation day issue should have been kept above politics.

KCR should have known that during the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations that the opposition party leaders and former Prime Ministers, too, participate even though they do not agree with the policies of the ruling party. BRS has lost a good chance of taking on the government.