New India needs new leadership

With rich experience, expertise, receptiveness and the force behind the formation of Telangana, KCR is coming to provide an alternative, effective, leadership to India

By Dr Ranjith Reddy

Indian polity is at a crossroads and looking for a transformational change. With the Congress increasingly becoming ‘defunct’ and the BJP increasingly showing its Machiavellian attitude and playing divisive politics, a huge vacuum has been created at the national level and the people are looking for an able leader, an effective administrator and a Messiah to make the country a Welfare State and steer it to new horizons.

India is a democracy. A dictatorial regime is not in its ethos and Indians never accepted such a regime. We hung around till Amrit Mahotsav and we are into Amrit Kaal looking for Achhe Din, but every single party at the Centre has done nothing except give a lollipop which proved that we are unrealistically optimistic about those who sell their ‘words’ than ‘deeds.’

Cooperative Federalism

We cannot separate federalism from the Constitution; it is an inherent part of it. The most important part of India’s federal character is the division of powers between the union and the States, independent judiciary, separate governments at the Centre and States, etc. ‘Cooperative federalism’ was the leitmotif of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister and vociferously supported cooperative federalism. Modi said in January 2012:

‘It is high time the Centre realises that giving to the States what rightfully belongs to them will not weaken the Centre. The States must coordinate with the union government and not remain subservient to it. Cooperative and not coercive federalism must be the norm in our country.’

But, after becoming the Prime Minister, instead of pushing for cooperative federalism, he made ‘coercive’ the new norm of federalism. Concentration of power, discrimination between States in providing financial and other support, misuse of agencies to create a fear psychosis in the minds of leaders of political rivals are not healthy for the federal structure of this country. If leaders at the Centre continue to do this, the country will fall like a pack of cards. India now needs a new progressive and visionary leadership who will take all federal constituents (States) along.

Many Failures

It is a monumental blunder of successive political parties that ruled the country but failed in reaping the benefits, failed to optimally utilise resources that India abundantly has and take fruits to Antyodaya which is the core objective of a Welfare State under Article 38 of the Constitution. It is an irony that in spite of India being bestowed with abundant water we are not able to give it for irrigation, we are not able to produce enough food for our people, not able to generate power for distribution. The absurdity is that we have not been able to inter-link rivers conceptualised nearly five decades ago!
It is equally unfortunate that one party ceded huge tracts of Indian territory to Pakistan and China and one party failed to protect its own jawans on borders!!

As one of the greatest Telugu poets, Sri Sri, said, ‘evaro vastarani edo chestarani eduru choosi mosapokuma…’, the people of this country should not wait till eternity that someone would come and transform their lives. Instead, look for one who has a proven track record, built the youngest State within no time and is competing with the most developed States in the country, is instrumental in one-third of global vaccines being produced in Telangana, facilitated more than 40% of India’s pharmaceuticals being manufactured in Telangana and ensured that the largest number of US FDA-approved manufacturing pharma facilities in the world are in Telangana. The list goes on.

Decisive Leadership

It is no exaggeration when I say that the youngest State is becoming the growth engine of the country. And, it has all been done by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao through his tireless, relentless penchant for the development and welfare of the State. Here is a leader who understands the problems and pain of the poor and labour in the country – he was the union Labour Minister – and has been the Chief Minister for the last eight years.

With rich experience, expertise, knowledge, receptiveness, inclination to learn, quick understanding of things and force behind the formation of Telangana, Chandrashekhar Rao is coming before the country to provide an alternative, effective, decisive leadership to India by taking with him all federal constituents of the country.

Let the people of this country bless the man who reflects India’s true values, highest ideals, empathy towards the poor, is a diehard supporter of true federalism and has proven secular credentials. Let us all come together to hand over the baton of this country to a leader who is determined to bring in a transformational change.

(The author is Member of Lok Sabha from Chevella, Telangana)