It is the BC political leaders in Telangana who lost their clout with Congress high command, compared to the upper caste leaders because of the separate state movement, states Prof Kancha Ilaiah, a dalit intellectual from the region.
Claiming that separate Telangana state was not a possibility at all, he alleged that while KCR and his family benefited immensely due to the agitation, it is the BC leaders in Congress such as K Kesava Rao, Madhu Yashki and Ponnam Prabhakar, who ended up suffering politically because of the movement. Upper caste Reddys like Jaipal Reddy and Jana Reddy maneuvered themselves in such a way that they protected their turf.
The BCs have been in the forefront of Telangana movement, but they are the ones who got damaged the most in the process. With Velamas represented by TRS making the most of the separate state agitation, the BCs have further lost the ground, politically, economically and socially, concludes Prof Ilaiah.
The recent elections in five states have made it clear that Congress and BJP have lost the support of the people. With SP gaining in UP, there is no space for any discussion on the issue of bifurcation of the state. Hence, the debate on small states will be relegated from political discourse for the time being.
In this backdrop, Telangana people will suffer if they don’t realize that regional parties will not be able to serve them effectively, even if they get large number of seats, says Prof Ilaiah, asking them to keep in mind betterment of their day-to-day life through development and vote accordingly in the by-polls.
Check out this article by Prof Kancha Ilaiah in Andhra Jyothy
