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TRS promises ministry for NRIs and funds for Gulf returnees

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) intends to set up a dedicated ministry for the welfare of Non-Resident Indians on the lines of the Kerala government’s initiative if it comes to power in Telangana.

Revealing this, K Kavitha, daughter of the party’s founder-president K Chandrasekhar Rao and Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency candidate, said the TRS, if it forms the government in the new state, would also help Gulf returnees by providing them loans ranging from Rs100,000 to Rs1 million to set up small and medium business enterprises.

In a remarkably candid interview to Khaleej Times in the course of her electioneering in Nizamabad, Kavitha said these commitments to the NRI community, particularly those in the Gulf, were part of the party manifesto.

She said that the Telangana Jagruthi, a socio-cultural organisation she heads, in collaboration with the Gulf Telangana Welfare Association, had helped over 1,500 stranded NRIs in the Gulf to return home by clearing their dues and paying for their tickets. “We are keen on setting up a separate ministry because the welfare activities of NRIs should be taken up at the governmental level,” she said.

Combining confidence with a touch of caution, the 36-year-old activist-turned-politician believes that it would be a ‘hands down’ victory for TRS in Telangana, bagging a majority of the 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 State Assembly segments in the new state. “TRS is the voice of Telangana people, and just as the late N T Rama Rao launched the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on the platform of “Telugu Atma Gouravam” (Telugu self pride), TRS stands for Telangana pride,” she said.

Kavitha is however, quick to add that the party was still in the agitation mode, and many of its members were not hardcore politicians. “I would give my party 70 per cent chance of forming the government in the new state and we are banking on our slogan for self-rule rather than parties from outside,” the unassuming MP-aspirant said.

But wouldn’t the accusations of dynastic rule go against the party? “I can’t deny that there is an element of dynasty, what with my father, brother (K T Rama Rao) and cousin (T Harish Rao) also in the electoral fray. But this is democracy. Just because I am KCR’s daughter, I can’t be denied the opportunity to contest. In any case, if I don’t perform, I am going to lose the next time I contest. But it’s not fair to deny me an opportunity just because I am KCR’s daughter,” she asserted.

When asked about KCR going back on his promise to merge his party with the Congress after Telangana becomes a reality, Kavitha shot back: “We never promised merger. In October 2012, we were called by the Congress for discussion, but they put forth 100 conditions including making Hyderabad a Union Territory which were not agreeable to us. Even the bill passed by both the Houses of Parliament is not what Telangana people wanted since it has several grey areas like the sharing of Krishna waters.”

“Moreover, since we are going alone, TRS has no colour, and all sections of society are willing back us. The Congress, on the other hand, carries 10 years of incumbency,” she said, and claimed that even the BJP cadres were working covertly for the TRS since they were not happy with the alliance the party had reached with the TDP.

On her campaign strategy, Kavitha said she was aiming at the basic needs of her constituents like drinking water and power supply. “Obviously, promises like major irrigation projects take a long time for implementation. So, my objective in the first term is to ensure that I take care of their basic and immediate needs. I know it’s like a sugar-coated pill, but that’s reality,” she said.