Despite KCR’s opinion that Kavitha should stay out of the limelight for now, Revanth Reddy’s reconceptualisation of the Telangana Thalli statue has provided an opportunity for her return.
Published Dec 13, 2024 | 12:39 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 13, 2024 | 12:39 PM
K Kavitha. (X)
BRS MLC Kavita Kalvakuntla seems set to begin the initiative to revive interest in the culture and identity of Telangana as she seeks to break out of her short hibernation.
Daughter of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), the former Nizamabad MP was arrested in March this year in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam and released on bail in August.
Since her release, she has been keeping a low profile before staging a return to active political life.
It appears that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s reconceptualisation of the Telangana Thalli statue has provided an opportunity for Kavitha to stage her return.
Conceptualised during the agitation for a separate Telangana state around 2007, the idea was never made official during the 10-year rule of the BRS, from 2014 to 2023.
Soon after Revanth unveiled the new statue at the state Secretariat on 9 December (incidentally, the birthday of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi), Kavitha and other BRS leaders slammed it. They claimed that it did not represent the culture and identity of Telangana. Revanth Reddy even declared that Telangana, henceforth, will celebrate every 9 December as Telangana Thalli Avatharana Dinotsavam (unveiling day of Mother of Telangana statue)
BRS leaders believed that the timing and depiction of the hand symbol in the statue were intended to gain political mileage rather than truly reflect the spirit of Telangana.
Having already performed rituals with milk at the old statues of Telangana Thalli, Kavitha has now called for a hall meeting with poets and intellectuals on 14 December to mould public opinion against the Congress government’s move.
The revival of “identity politics”, however, seems to be just the gateway for Kavitha’s long-term political plans. If sources within the BRS are to be believed, her father, KCR, was in favour of Kavitha remaining silent for at least a few more months.
However, it was not to the liking of Kavitha, who believed that the longer she stayed at home, the greater the risk of political oblivion, a situation that she would not like to be forced into.
At the same time, those who know KCR are not surprised at his stance. As someone who subscribes to the notion that a son is automatically the heir-apparent, KCR always saw his son and former minister KT Rama Rao (popularly known as KTR) as his rightful successor. He was of the opinion that his daughter should stay on the sidelines and be satisfied with whatever position she was given by the party.
Having jumped into the Telangana agitation ahead of KTR, Kavitha, who is aggressive by nature, reportedly told her aides that she would not like to lie low. Compared to the male leaders of BRS, Kavitha is no less capable on any count and would not allow any attempt to suppress her public life.
The strident anti-BJP stance that Kavitha appears to be taking is also making news. In recent weeks, she has reportedly been meeting intellectuals and others known for their centre or left-of-centre leanings to scale up her political activity in the months to come.
“It’s a party that sent me to jail on trumped charges. There is no question of any truce with BJP,” was what Kavitha has been reportedly saying to those who called on her.
However, the BRS – from KCR to others – is under a public perception that it has become soft towards the BJP following the regional party’s defeat in the Assembly polls in December last year.
Irrespective of critical public utterances, BRS leaders have been saying in private that it would be difficult for them to take on the BJP at the Centre and Congress in the state and therefore, it would be prudent to be friendly with one.
In this context, Kavitha’s moves become interesting. Irrespective of whether the party likes it or not, Kavita is said to be planning continuous visits to villages and towns across Telangana to understand issues affecting the people and highlight them as she seeks to reinvent herself.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
