- 31 minutes ago
At the India Today Conclave South 2026, BRS working president KT Rama Rao ruled out an alliance with the BJP, backed KCR as the party’s chief ministerial face and promised a comeback.
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00:00Thank you, President, BRS. We've also – what we've done is we've tweaked our session a little.
00:06So while we're going to be talking about technology, Cyberabad, the way ahead,
00:10we're also talking about the larger picture, formation to transformation, where Telangana is concerned.
00:17Ten years in governance, now watching two and a half years in the opposition.
00:21Katie Rama Rao, welcome. Thank you for coming to Kochi and taking the time out, sir.
00:26But I'd like to begin with what now is a hot-button topic.
00:30Not very far off – far off, but not very far off.
00:33In Delhi, there is an all-party meet which is taking place,
00:36deliberating on what a united opposition, which you're not a part of, has to do
00:41at the back of what is a damning report in the Indian Express,
00:45where the workings of the Election Commission is concerned.
00:52What is your party's stand, where the CEC, the report that has come out,
00:59the allegations which now a majority of the opposition parties are making?
01:03The Congress yesterday has asked the CEC to step down.
01:07Not just that, they've raised accusations right to the top of Prime Minister
01:11and Home Minister's resignation as well.
01:13Thank you. In fact, firstly, it's always a pleasure being in Kerala.
01:18Kochi is one of my favorite cities in the country.
01:20So thank you to India Today for actually hosting this event here.
01:24On the Election Commission issue, in fact, we've made our stand very, very clear.
01:30Election Commission of India Today faces some serious credibility issues,
01:34which unlike ever post-independence, this is the first time we've –
01:38not the very first time, but over the last few years,
01:41Election Commission has been under tremendous, tremendous scrutiny.
01:44Without a question, I think what Indian Express has outed
01:48is something that the entire country today truly, truly believes to be a fact.
01:55The onus is truly and fully on Supreme Court of India,
02:00because Election Commission, at the end of the day, it's a constitutional body.
02:04The onus is on Supreme Court to take so-moto cognizance
02:07and order an independent judicial probe.
02:09Otherwise, no matter what the opposition says, no matter what which party says,
02:14the fact will remain that BJP will continue to support whatever Election Commission has done.
02:19Election Commission will continue to defend what they've done.
02:22I think an independent probe headed by no less a person than a Supreme Court judge
02:25will eventually get to the bottom of it.
02:27But yes, one thing is a fact, the EC needs to be fixed.
02:31The EC seems to be broken.
02:33The entire credibility of the world's largest democracy is in question.
02:37So I certainly – I mean, I don't see eye to eye with Mr. Rahul Gandhi on a lot of
02:41things.
02:41But on this issue, yes, I do believe that it does require a serious scrutiny.
02:46Is your party stand on the side where, yes, that the Election Commission of India
02:51is crying out for reforms and reforms must happen?
02:54Or you, like the rest of the opposition, and I can name parties like TMC, Congress,
02:59even the Samajbadi Party and the likes, have asked and demanded
03:02that the Chief Election Commissioner step down?
03:05Well, you know, after such allegations, I think the moral responsibility is on the CEC to step down.
03:10I think voluntarily, without having to be sacked or, you know, be even – without even a demand coming from
03:17any party.
03:18I mean, such serious allegations of, you know, 14 – 10 out of 14 times, you know,
03:23him vetoing the two other Election Commissioners.
03:25It's not a joke or not a normal thing.
03:27So, if I was Mr. Ganesh Kumar, I would have stepped down already and sought a probe.
03:33But unfortunately, in our country, at this point in time, the polarization across parties is so creel, so clear,
03:40that I don't think he's going to do it.
03:42So, therefore, I think the onus, because it's an election – it's in a constitutional body,
03:47the onus is on Supreme Court to step in, take Suomoto cognizance, and call for an independent probe.
03:53What this has also done is, Mr. Rao, it's put the focus on one very contentious electoral process
04:00that has been on in the country over the last year and a half, the SIR.
04:04What are the views of your party?
04:06And I'll give you an example.
04:08We had from your state, Mr. Rovisi, yesterday.
04:12And he says that the SIR needs to stop immediately, that it needs to be discontinued.
04:19And this is a demand, again, opposition parties are making.
04:21I have a slightly different opinion.
04:23In fact, SIR is nothing new to this country.
04:26It has happened several times in the past, you know, 13 times.
04:29And this is the 14th time.
04:30The last time it happened was in 2002.
04:32We all know that.
04:33So, a revision of the voter list is something that we ought to do.
04:36Because, you know, otherwise, the votes are the dead, the votes are the shifted.
04:41You know, it all becomes a problem.
04:42And eventually, in a democracy, when we're talking about first-past-the-post kind of system,
04:46each vote counts and each vote matters.
04:48But if somebody in Telangana has to complain about SIR, it's us.
04:53Because, you know, we won 39 out of 119 seats in 2023.
04:58And the largest number of vote deletions happened in our seats.
05:01Out of the 39, we won 27.7%.
05:04Not a small number.
05:0727.7% of the votes have been deleted.
05:09Yes.
05:10There is a lot of apprehensions, lots of doubts, lots of concerns.
05:16Can we bring about more transparency?
05:18In fact, we went all the way to election commission.
05:20We sat with the full commissionerate.
05:22And we requested them.
05:24We said, you know, probably have a multi-stakeholder approach.
05:27Booth-level agents of each political party being a part of the process.
05:30Make it more transparent.
05:31And they've heeded to some of our advice.
05:33They've actually initiated that.
05:35But have the BLOs been effective?
05:37Have things happened as they were envisaged?
05:40No.
05:40So I think a serious introspection on the whole process.
05:44But the good news from our perspective, from Telangana's perspective is,
05:48our elections are two years away.
05:49Fair point.
05:50But you also have the largest number of voters, and I'm sorry I'm coming in, Gen Z voters,
05:56let's call them, 18 to 29.
05:58I think four lakhs have registered, and that is a contention that has been raised by your
06:04party as well, giving the example, not your party, sorry, the Congress as well, giving the
06:08example of Telangana, where Form 6 is concerned, because these voters will only be added by the
06:13virtue of Form 6, that there needs to be a full introspection on that account.
06:18A lot of issues that need to be said right.
06:20In fact, like I said, the good news for us is two years from an election, because we at
06:25least have the opportunity to go knock on the doors of a judiciary.
06:29Unlike in Bihar or Bengal, when the SIR happened and, you know, it happened right around the
06:33election time.
06:34So, for us, yes, there are a lot of challenges, a lot of concerns, but at least we have some
06:40judicial remedies to seek, and that's what we are going to do.
06:43While this whole political conversation on property in public life, constitutional bodies,
06:47where the CEC is taking place, Mr. Rao, there is also another facet to it.
06:51Now, that's not political, but it's headed by a, you can call it a political pressure
06:56group, the Kokoro Janata Party, which is now understood to represent the mood of the Gen
07:02Z generation that we speak of.
07:05And in two days, they are carrying out a parallel movement in Mumbai, where they are demanding
07:10exactly the same thing, which these opposition parties are demanding.
07:14How do you view that?
07:15Because at one end, there is, of course, political pressure, and on the other hand, there is
07:21a leveraging of the Gen Z momentum through a pressure group of the nature of CJP.
07:28See, youngsters rebelling against establishment is nothing new, Upreeti.
07:32If you look back in history as well, you know, in Telangana, we've had Telangana agitation
07:38prior to that, we had independence, we had independence movement, we had quit India.
07:42You know, in Telangana, there was a very popular slogan,
07:44Jeena hai toh marna seekho, kadam kadam pe ladna seekho.
07:47I think that echoes across the country as well.
07:49I think it is born out of protest.
07:51In Kilab, Zindabad, and all these, you know.
07:53So, protests by youngsters, call them Gen Z or call them youngsters, give them whatever
07:59name at different points of time, have happened throughout time, because they are the ones
08:04who actually reset, you know, a lot of things which, when they go hayward, when they go wayward.
08:09So, yes, it's a welcome change.
08:11In fact, if anything, Gen Z has shown the country that no matter who you are, no matter what
08:17your stature is as a political leader, you are vulnerable, you are accountable, which
08:22unfortunately was not the case for a long time in India so far.
08:25Today, you know, last year I was at an event in Bombay, and that's exactly when Nepal Gen
08:31Z protests erupted.
08:32So, the anchor just…
08:33We were having a conversation just like this.
08:35The anchor had asked me, would you see this happening in India?
08:38I said, yes.
08:39A lot of them, you know, sneered, jeered and laughed at me, mocked me, saying, how could
08:43this happen in India?
08:44When the confidence erodes in the system, when your leaders, your leadership in a democracy
08:51doesn't seem accountable, yes, things will happen.
08:54NEAT was just the pretext, if you ask me.
08:56NEAT was just the tip of the iceberg.
08:58I think what was seen on the streets of Delhi and across the country was the angst of the
09:03youngsters against the establishment, because they want equality of choice, freedom of choice,
09:08no religious bigotry, no divisive politics.
09:11There are so many things that are driving them.
09:13In fact, I, at one point in time, I have two Gen Z kids at home.
09:16My son was 21, my daughter was 17.
09:19So, I used to be concerned also that these guys don't seem to have a clue about what's
09:23happening in the society.
09:24But when I, when they showed up like they did, I think that was such a breath of fresh
09:28air.
09:29And it took all of us by surprise.
09:31And I'm delighted that at least somebody in this country is setting, resetting, not setting,
09:36but resetting the tone and the tenor.
09:38You know, your take is interesting.
09:40I just want to, you know, for a moment differentiate between what happened in Nepal and what happened
09:45in India.
09:45Because it might have been in the beginning, Nepal might have started off with the Gen Z
09:50as a phase.
09:51But ultimately, we knew there were other elements involved.
09:53But if you talk about just our protest, which is, which, what has happened back home in India.
09:58It's interesting because you don't look at it as politically motivated.
10:02You don't look at it, what many from the government of the day at that point of time when it
10:06all started
10:06called a foreign hand.
10:07You don't look at it from the prism of any of that.
10:11See, the funny part is whenever the government is in a defensive mode, they try and push it onto somebody
10:16else.
10:16They say the George Soros or somebody who's apparently, you know, always obsessed about
10:21India, apparently.
10:22Right?
10:23The fact is, youngsters of this country are currently peeved.
10:27That's, that's obvious.
10:29And if you don't see, if you don't want to see the writing on the wall, that's your, your problem.
10:33Is the government doing enough to assuage?
10:34Absolutely not.
10:36What happened to the two crore jobs?
10:37Jobs that were promised.
10:38Two crore jobs per year that were promised.
10:40Are there answers being given?
10:42I mean, how long are you going to continue on this routine of trying to divide the country
10:47on religious lines?
10:48It has been long enough.
10:49I mean, I've seen Telangana chief minister yesterday talk about Ram versus Shiva.
10:55I don't understand.
10:56Now BJP wants to divide the country on religious lines, on Hindu-Muslim.
11:00Now this Congress fellow wants to divide our own gods, you know, Ram versus Shiva.
11:04What nonsense is this?
11:05And these are two national parties?
11:06Seriously?
11:06And this is your agenda.
11:08This is what you're going to talk about.
11:09My simple point, Preeti, is where is the discussion from this government on jobs?
11:16Where is the discussion from this government on the promises they've made?
11:19By 2022, every household in India was supposed to have portable drinking water connection.
11:25We were supposed to be a five trillion economy by 2022.
11:28We were supposed to have bullet trains running across the country by 2022.
11:33Where is the discussion on that?
11:34We talk about Vande Matram.
11:37We talk about UCC.
11:38We talk about Ram Mandir or Mandir Me Chori.
11:40Where are the real issues of the people which are being discussed?
11:42Mr. Rao, this is the strongest I've ever heard you speak, where this government is concerned,
11:46in the recent past at least.
11:47So can I…
11:48I'm inferring and allowing…
11:49We are speaking to each other…
11:49No, we are speaking to each other for the first time, so…
11:51You and I are speaking…
11:52But I have heard you speak.
11:53I have…
11:54Not that we've spoken, but it's what I've heard you speak.
11:56But having said that…
11:58So…
11:58As…
12:00As an inquisitive political journalist, I infer from you then, that there is no alliance
12:05with the BJP in the next two years, that you're going to go into elections with…
12:092014 is when Telangana was formed.
12:11We fought alone.
12:122018 we fought alone.
12:132023 we fought alone.
12:15Our party is twenty-six years old.
12:17We've never had truck with BJP ever in the last twenty-six years.
12:20So this whole idea that we would align with BJP in itself is something that is absurd.
12:25Because we've never aligned with them ever.
12:27Ideologically, we are poles apart.
12:29There's no reason why we should…
12:31But allow me to tell you why, you know, talk of such with what you say of possible
12:36alliance or tacit support…
12:38For example, the parliament is still not prorogued.
12:42In all probability, we're going to see a delimitation exercise that would be conducted.
12:46Once again, it was defeated in…
12:48The bill was defeated in April.
12:50But your party has taken a clear stand.
12:53If…
12:53If certain…
12:55If what…
12:56Proportional representation is made in that bill, then you will vote with the government.
13:00Let me give you my perspective on delimitation, my party's perspective.
13:04Why is delimitation done in the first place?
13:06Simple.
13:07Constitution envisaged that every ten years there would be a census, a population census,
13:11and then based on that census, you would need to have proportionate increase or reduction
13:16in parliament seats and representation.
13:18And we are…
13:18We are…
13:18We are a representative democracy.
13:20So in 1951, there were census followed by seats, which were 440.
13:2561…
13:25470, it increased to…
13:27And 71, it increased to 543, which is the current number.
13:30Then they decided that for next 30 years, we are not going to touch this because eventually,
13:34population needs to be controlled.
13:35That was the mantra then.
13:36So family planning of association of India was formed.
13:39Nazbandi, et cetera, et cetera.
13:40We all know the story.
13:42Certain parts of India have adhered to this mantra.
13:45Hum do, humare do, et cetera, et cetera.
13:48That is Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra, Punjab, Odisha.
13:54Lot of states have adhered to that advice.
13:55So as a result, population has gone down here.
13:5824% of population has come down to 19% from the south, only speaking of the south.
14:04Now today, if a census has to happen, and based on that census, if you are going to create
14:10newer parliament segments…
14:11Home minister is saying no.
14:12No, no, no, I'll tell you that.
14:14What our concern is, why do you want to conduct delimitation in the first place?
14:18If you are saying it is for the sake of the people, then why don't you go ahead and increase
14:22the number of MLA seats?
14:23Because MPs are never the first point of contact anyway.
14:26If you want to start delimitation, increase the number of legislative seats in the state
14:31assemblies, and keep the parliament seats intact, 543.
14:35Can you not implement women's reservation among the 543?
14:37That's what the Congress says.
14:39Yes, absolutely.
14:39Go ahead and do it.
14:40Now the second point is, if delimitation… because they have the numbers.
14:44Right.
14:44Because in a democracy…
14:45We don't know whether they have the numbers.
14:46They didn't have the numbers on 17th April.
14:48No, no.
14:48All I'm saying is, if they have the numbers, and if the government is going to go ahead with
14:52it, then I would say, make sure it's proportionate.
14:55Twenty-four percent is the representation of the south in the parliament today.
14:59Keep it intact, we'll support it.
15:00If you fiddle with it, if you stifle our voice, it is going…
15:04Let me simplify it.
15:05Because this is an academic conversation about MLAs and all of that, which is interesting.
15:09But your political stand is, you make a proportional increase where the south state is concerned.
15:15If the 24 percent representation from the south of India remains intact in parliament…
15:19Which the Home Minister has promised.
15:20Well, I don't believe in his promise.
15:21He's saying it's going to be part of the union.
15:22I don't believe in the promise because of one simple reason.
15:24We don't believe in BJP's promises because in 2014, when the new state of Telangana was
15:29formed, a state reorganization act was passed, a bill was passed, enacted by the parliament.
15:35None of the promises have been implemented till date, including delimitation of seats in
15:40Andhra and Telangana assembly.
15:41So, what is the guarantee that, you know, even if it is put in the bill, they have to honor
15:47it, they have to deliver it.
15:49I'm now confused.
15:50Are you going to support the bill if there's proportional representation?
15:52Yes, we will.
15:54Yes, we will.
15:54Yes, we will.
15:55But, again, will they implement it?
15:58I think it will only suit their political needs.
16:00Because they have done delimitation in Assam when it suited them.
16:03They have done delimitation in JNK when it suited them.
16:06But they have left Andhra and Telangana out because it didn't suit them.
16:08BJP has no presence here.
16:10So, my point is, if they are going to go…
16:13But some would argue BJP is seeing green shoots in Telangana if there is anywhere else
16:16other than Karnataka, it's Telangana.
16:18Well, well, well, well, let's see, let's see that.
16:20Let's…
16:20We'll deal with that.
16:21We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
16:23But all I'm saying is, I think BJP is on a back foot now across the country.
16:28And they are looking for a Hail Mary kind of solution.
16:31And I think one of the things they are looking at is delimitation.
16:33Another thing they are looking at is UCC.
16:35All right.
16:35Okay.
16:35So, where the delimitation is concerned, I infer you will support it if there is proportional
16:39representation.
16:40Yes.
16:40Yes.
16:41All right.
16:41Let me move on because you've clearly taken a stand politically, like you said, that you're
16:46ideologically opposite to where the BJP stands.
16:48Strangely, you're also ideologically opposite to where the Congress stands.
16:51There's nothing strange about it.
16:52India is not a bipolar country.
16:53I don't have a bipolar problem.
16:54Therefore, all the talk that there is right now, Mr. Rao, that there could be the possibility
16:59of the formation of a front coming in from the south, which…
17:04Now, I'll tell you, it's come at the back of what?
17:06That there's this massive political buzz that DMK is in touch with the BRS, and you're
17:10trying to create this third front sort of, or a second front in the south, sort of an
17:15equation which is anti-BJP but also anti-the Congress.
17:19How much truth is there in it?
17:20If four years ago, our leader KCR went to Stalin, sir, he went to Mamata Didi, he went
17:26to Nitish ji, he went to Mr. Naveen Patnaik, basically proposing the same thing.
17:31He said, you know, why are we, in fact, we can all be non-aligned either to BJP or Congress.
17:36We can form an independent, you know, pressure group and create enough pressure on the two
17:40national parties, two large national parties.
17:42Mr. Rao, out of that, Mamata Banerjee has picked a side.
17:45She's sitting right next to Sonia Gandhi today.
17:47Nitish Kumar, you and I both know, has already picked a side.
17:50That leaves the DMK and you.
17:52Priti, politics, you know, is a dynamic field.
17:56Things keep evolving, things keep changing.
17:58So, we have two years to go to 2029.
18:01Neither am I, Asut Sayer, I don't suppose you are one either.
18:04So, let's wait.
18:05I think let's wait for the pot to boil, come to…
18:08So, the pot is boiling, that's all I want to know.
18:10It is always boiling.
18:12All right.
18:12So, all the talk about the DMK, Mr. Stalin being in touch with your father is not just…
18:18They've been…
18:18No, no, they've been friends…
18:19Shooting the breeze.
18:19No, no, they've been friends or a lot of friends across the political spectrum.
18:23So, who knows what will happen in 2029.
18:25That's a long way.
18:26That's a…
18:27No, not so long, actually.
18:28But, it's not so long, but you know, I have not too much time.
18:31I want to come back to what we started off with.
18:33I'll ask you one question.
18:35From your political party, you're the working president now.
18:39Chief Ministerial face?
18:41Absolutely not.
18:43I'll tell you why.
18:44Because, one, today in Telangana, people are…
18:48You know, you've heard the triple R mantra.
18:51I don't know if you have.
18:52Not the movie.
18:53Not the movie, but the triple R mantra is recall, regret and revolt.
18:58Three years ago, the Congress party made heavy promises.
19:03I mean, like fake promises of the next level.
19:06They promised…
19:06They give ATM looking…
19:08Cards which look like ATM cards.
19:11You know?
19:11Credit cards.
19:12And promise to the people of Telangana…
19:14Almost…
19:14They made 420 promises.
19:16Starting from…
19:17Ranging from gold, to scooties, to 2500 per month.
19:22Altogether, 420 promises.
19:24We lost by a whisker.
19:26We lost by about 1.8%.
19:28Out of the total polled vote, we lost by 4 lakh votes.
19:31Now, that's a very marginal defeat, if you ask me.
19:34So, people are now recalling…
19:35You held on to…
19:35You held on to where the urban pockets, Hyderabad and…
19:38In fact, if you look…
19:39You were wiped out in the rural area.
19:41Well, yes.
19:42Parts of rural area.
19:43But the fact is, today people are recalling the previous government,
19:47and especially previous chief minister, that is KCR Garu.
19:49Now, they are regretting voting for Congress,
19:52and there will be a revolt soon on the streets of Telangana.
19:54And I assure you, two years later, you will see KCR Garu back in the seat,
19:58and hopefully sitting here and talking to you.
20:00All right.
20:00So…
20:00As chief minister of Telangana.
20:01As chief ministerial candidate would be Mr. KCR and not…
20:04Absolutely.
20:04Absolutely.
20:05Mr. KTR.
20:06No, no.
20:06It's absolutely our leader, the former chief minister, Mr. KTR.
20:10He is the face of it.
20:10He is the face of it.
20:11Is there a possibility of a split within your party?
20:14Like I said,
20:15Kalkisne dekha hai, but I don't suppose it's happening.
20:17You don't see that happening.
20:18One question before I move to Telangana,
20:20which is something that you've said, Mr. Rao.
20:22And that question stems from the fact where you say,
20:25or possible regret of changing your party's name from TRS to BRS.
20:30Naam mein kya rak hai, Preeti?
20:32Agar mein apna naam badalke mein Shahrukh Khan laga loonga,
20:34toh kaj Shahrukh banja hoonga, kya?
20:36Point ye hai ki,
20:37apki agar DNA nahi badalti hai.
20:39If your DNA hasn't changed,
20:41if your party leadership hasn't changed,
20:42your ideology has not changed,
20:44your commitment to the people has not changed,
20:46your conviction to ideals has not changed,
20:48then nothing changes.
20:49See, we had aspirations to go national.
20:52Nothing wrong.
20:53See, when Telugu cinema can go pan-India,
20:55why not a Telugu party going pan-India?
20:57That's what we thought.
20:58With BRS?
20:59With BRS was the idea,
21:00but unfortunately…
21:01In Bharat not Telangana in the first…
21:03Unfortunately, we fell flat right at home,
21:05so we have to now reset.
21:07So is the reset going back to TRS?
21:10It doesn't mean that we don't have a number.
21:12See, we chose that name with an intent of,
21:15you know, showcasing our good work that we have done in Telangana,
21:18in other parts of India as well,
21:20and probably gain a foothold.
21:22See, life is all about dreaming the impossible.
21:25See, when we started our journey,
21:27dreaming of statehood for Telangana,
21:28it was called a pipe dream.
21:29Eventually, it happened in 14 years,
21:31because of TRS.
21:32Now, today we are dreaming bigger.
21:34Nothing wrong.
21:35Life is all about dreaming the impossible
21:37and making it happen.
21:37And let me tell you,
21:38politics is the art of possibility.
21:41And so anything is possible in our country.
21:43If a party can grow from two members in parliament to 303,
21:47anything is possible in India,
21:49and that's the beauty of our country.
21:50Well, the first possibility is where you shift focus
21:52from Bharat back to Telangana.
21:54You have an election in two and a half years.
21:55I just want to now come back to Telangana,
21:57because that's what we wanted to speak about.
22:00And you've been in governance for the…
22:01You were in governance for ten years,
22:03and for the last two and a half years,
22:04you've seen…
22:09Three years of the Congress in power.
22:13From formation, which you were a part of,
22:16to transformation, which partly you were a part of.
22:19And that transformation has been carried out by now,
22:22Mr. Revant Reddy.
22:23How do you see that journey?
22:25Well, I think people of Telangana have to answer.
22:28Because, you know, end of the day,
22:29when I say something about my political opponent,
22:31it's not going to be very charitable.
22:33And you won't like it,
22:34because I think that's just the nature of our jobs, you know.
22:38I will have to only tell you the bad things that he's done,
22:41and I won't be talking about anything good,
22:43because that's how it is.
22:45So, all I would say is, let the people of Telangana decide,
22:48because they are the ones who are facing the brunt of,
22:50you know, this misgovernance of Congress.
22:53I'll leave it at that,
22:53because I don't want to be uncharitable to the man.
22:55He's new to the job, still.
22:57He's learning.
22:58His number of trips to Delhi are about eighty now.
23:01Every ten days, he's in Delhi.
23:02So, I'm guessing it all depends on Delhi, not Hyderabad.
23:06He's obviously subservient to Delhi,
23:08and not to the people of Telangana.
23:10All right.
23:11So, you're rather uncharitable there,
23:13because let's shift focus.
23:15Let's speak of what you delivered,
23:17and you, the whole dream,
23:20because, you know, you've been the face of tech,
23:22you've been the face of industry,
23:24at least in your governance years in Telangana.
23:27And you did make an attempt to draw out of Hyderabad
23:31and go to tier two cities where tech and industry is concerned.
23:34Do you think it's possible?
23:36Because it didn't quite work out at that time.
23:38No, it is very much possible.
23:39I'll give you six examples of how well we've done as a state.
23:42I call my state the most successful start-up state
23:46of independent India in the last eighty years,
23:47and there's a reason why I say that.
23:50One, when we started our journey in 2014,
23:53our GSDP, the Gross State Domestic Product,
23:56was only four and a half lakh crores.
23:57When we left office in 2023,
23:59it rose to about sixteen lakh crores.
24:02Highest for any state in the country in a span of a decade.
24:05Two, our per capita income when we started our journey in 2014
24:09was around one lakh rupees.
24:10When we left office,
24:11it is the highest in the country for any state,
24:13three lakh eighty-seven thousand rupees.
24:15Number three,
24:16our IT exports and IT jobs have grown many-fold.
24:20In fact, IT jobs were about three lakh twenty-three thousand,
24:23it grew to almost a million, ten lakh jobs.
24:25IT exports were about fifty-seven thousand crores.
24:28It grew almost to, again, two lakh forty-one thousand crores.
24:31I'm reeling out numbers, but I'll tell you one simple thing.
24:34If somebody was travelling prior to the formation of Telangana,
24:37from Andhra to Telangana,
24:39you would see that the Telangana fields were all barren, dry, parched.
24:42But after KCR and after Kaleshwaram and after Mission Kakatiya,
24:47today if you travel the length and breadth of Telangana,
24:50you would see that we've become the number one paddy producer
24:54in the entire country, surpassing Punjab and Haryana.
24:57So we've not only ushered in a green revolution,
25:00we've also been able to resurrect the private sector.
25:04We have been able to create jobs,
25:05we've been able to create an economy that's tough to beat.
25:08We contribute to five point one percent of India's GDP,
25:11and we are only two point five percent of India's population.
25:14So we're literally a state that is punching double its weight,
25:17and we are proud to be contributing to the nation building.
25:20Now did our tier two plan work?
25:21Yes, to a large extent.
25:23In fact, if you go beyond Hyderabad,
25:26you would see that most of the smaller towns,
25:28district headquarters in Telangana are very, very well developed.
25:31In fact, I draw a lot of inspiration from Kerala.
25:33I came here to learn about Kerala's rural development model.
25:36I was a Panchayatiraj minister in my early days.
25:39So I came here to study the rural development model.
25:42I met with Mr. Vijayananda, a former bureaucrat,
25:45a very accomplished one at that.
25:47Took some examples from Kerala and eventually went back and implemented.
25:50We won thirty percent of national Panchayat awards.
25:53We are less than three percent of India in population.
25:56We continue to win thirty percent of the awards.
25:58So that shows the holistic integrated development model that we pursued.
26:01Then what explains Mr. Rao, the sheer fact,
26:03you talk about the paddy fields, but the paddy fields didn't quite stand up for you,
26:07electoral.
26:07You talk about Panchayatiraj.
26:09The rural belt ousted you and gave you a verdict.
26:13Which is fine.
26:14You see, in politics there is nobody who is going to be permanent in the seat.
26:17You know, that's a given.
26:18But…
26:18Why is it that you couldn't grow out of the urban…
26:20I'll tell you.
26:21…you couldn't get that same amount of vote which you got impossibly in Hyderabad?
26:24Probably the urban voters were not as gullible, I think.
26:28Because the urban voters could see through the fake promises of the Congress party.
26:31Rural voters probably were more gullible.
26:33And also, of course, I'll not discount the fact that probably we were overconfident.
26:37We underestimated the fatigue, the anti-incumbency factor.
26:41So a combination of all this has really led to us losing by one point eight percent.
26:45But that's no problem because eventually in politics, like they say, you go back to the drawing table.
26:50You know, look at what you've done right, look at what you've done wrong.
26:53Probably correct and go back again.
26:55You know, you speak of how the Congress gave out what…
26:59SOPs in terms of four hundred… over four hundred schemes and SOPs.
27:03Four hundred and twenty.
27:03Four hundred and twenty.
27:04You know Section 420 in the IPC?
27:06Same thing.
27:07No, no, coming back.
27:07No, no, I don't want to get into any of that.
27:09So, okay.
27:09So over four hundred SOPs during polls.
27:12Are you saying you're not going to give any of that?
27:14Are you going to roll each one of them back because it's fiscally impossible?
27:18It's the Congress government that is currently running the show in Telangana.
27:21It's… the onus is on Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who came all the way to Hyderabad, promised two
27:26lakh jobs to the youth of Telangana, promised four hundred and twenty different things to
27:30cross section of Telangana.
27:31The onus is on Rahul Gandhi, who is the leader of opposition, to deliver.
27:35If he doesn't, then he'll be held accountable.
27:37So they made promises.
27:38They didn't buy your promises.
27:39They bought the Congress promises.
27:40Trust me when I say this.
27:41They've not only bought our promises, they actually cheered for us.
27:44And you'll see us…
27:46Our comeback is going to be much bigger than the setback.
27:48I promise you that.
27:49Well, okay.
27:50My… one final question then.
27:52Your comeback is going to be, or not, will depend when that last vote is counted, is tied
27:58in, because Telangana's elections are tied into the general elections.
28:01No, they're not.
28:02They were six months apart.
28:03All right.
28:03More or less.
28:04The mood is pretty much…
28:06We consciously disassociated our election, you know, which was conjointed.
28:10We actually dissolved our house in 2018, six months before the general election.
28:14Yes.
28:15Okay.
28:15So let's say six months apart.
28:16But there is a basic sense, basic mood that is building in.
28:20Do you think the next two and a half years, where India is concerned, as well as where
28:24your state is concerned, is crucial politically?
28:26Lots is going to happen?
28:28Or do you think… pretty much you know how the cards will fall?
28:31I think as far as…
28:31I think as far as…
28:32You seem to know how the cards will fall from your state, but India…
28:34I'll tell you what.
28:34I'm…
28:35I'm…
28:35I'm…
28:35See, I'm…
28:36I'm a very small…
28:37I represent a very small state.
28:39And I'm a very small man when it comes to the larger Indian context.
28:43So I would not hazard a guess as to what's going to happen in India.
28:46But I'll tell you in Telangana, it is KCR that is coming back in 2028.
28:50And I promise you that, like I said, he's going to be the chief minister and his comeback
28:54will be quite robust.
28:56And India?
28:57India, like I said…
28:58India, like I said…
28:59I'm…
28:59I'm too small…
29:00Too small an entity.
29:01But I'll tell you one thing.
29:03There is great amount of dissatisfaction with the incumbent government.
29:06Now it depends on how and who will actually raise to the occasion.
29:10See, these kids of the CJP have roasted the occasion and roasted the current government.
29:15So who knows what's in… what's in store.
29:17Unfortunately, the leader of opposition doesn't seem to inspire enough confidence in the youngsters.
29:22And it took a bunch of, you know, motley crew, so to speak, to step up and inspire the country.
29:28And not the leader of opposition, which is truly a travesty.
29:31All right.
29:31And the dream of the third front is still rife.
29:33Mr. KT Ramarau…
29:35Thank you, please.
29:35…and our August audience.
29:37Please give a warm applause to working President BRS, KT Ramarau.
29:41Thank you so much, sir, for taking the time out and joining us this afternoon.
29:45Thank you, KT Ramarau.