Telangana needs jobs and water, not offerings to the divine

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao’s offering of gold jewellery to the Tirupati temple, valued at an estimated Rs 5.59 crore, as thanksgiving for the creation of the state, raises some disturbing questions. The youngest state in the Indian nation is beset with crippling issues like farmer suicides, water scarcity, and widespread economic distress. But KCR, as the chief minister is popularly called, has adopted a style of functioning that pays little heed to criticism of his ways. The lavish offering, reportedly funded by the state exchequer, is also unfair to the Telangana agitation. It was not only providence but the unstinting efforts of thousands of activists and the hardships they faced that finally led to the creation of the state. Dozens of youngsters had also committed suicide during the Telangana agitation as a means of putting pressure on the central and Andhra Pradesh governments. 

But since his landslide victory in the 2014 assembly polls, KCR has claimed all the credit for Telangana’s formation, neatly sidelining the other important stakeholders like the Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the Congress, whose government at the Centre piloted the legislation through Parliament. In fact, it is noteworthy that he has shared some of his limelight with the deity. However, the timing of KCR’s surprise offering, nearly three years after the state’s founding, also raises suspicions about whether it is a political act of communal appeasement. A few weeks ago, the Telangana government had announced a legislation to grant 12 per cent reservation for Muslims. The decision attracted tremendous flak putting KCR on the backfoot. If he was seeking to balance communal sentiments with a brazen display of devotion and generosity he has again chosen the wrong time for the move.

Once KCR’s biggest backer, the JAC, which is largely a student network, has parted ways with him and is in the process of activating its grassroots networks. On the same day that KCR chose to visit Tirumala, the JAC organised a youth rally to protest the rising unemployment in the state. The police was forced to resort to large-scale arrests to contain the situation. The unemployment rate is 17.2 per cent in urban areas as against 3.8 per cent in rural areas. What this means is that nearly one in five persons is actively looking for a job in cities, a clear pointer to the growing disillusionment with the KCR government. The downturn in the Information Technology sector is also a cause for worry considering that Hyderabad, Telangana’s capital and cash cow, is heavily reliant on this sector for revenues. 

KCR has had phenomenal electoral success even after the assembly elections, sweeping every bypoll along the way. But that has also got to do with the quality of the Opposition. Like most other states in the country, the Congress is in no position to highlight KCR’s failures. In contrast to KCR, his son KT Rama Rao, a minister in the Telanagana government, and daughter K Kavitha, a TRS MP, have made a positive impression in their respective domains, marking them out as leaders of note for the future. Before the tide of public opinion turns and the euphoria over Telangana creation evaporates, KCR must get his act together.