Former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang and several other leaders joined the BRS on Friday, 27 January, lending strength to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s efforts to broad-base his party in a bid to build a “Mahan Bharat”.
The Odisha leader and others, who came down to Hyderabad, donned pink scarves offered by the BRS chief at Telangana Bhavan.
Though KCR did not appoint Gamang the in-charge of the BRS Odisha unit, as was widely expected, it became clear that the senior leader would be playing a key role from Odisha in helping the party grow in his state.
In fact, on 13 January, Gamang and his son Shishir called on KCR at Pragathi Bhavan where they discussed national politics for a considerable amount of time.
Friday’s meeting is being seen as a follow-up of this meeting as the Odisha leader arrived with a huge entourage of leaders, workers, and farmers.
ఒడిశా మాజీ మంత్రి శివరాజ్ పాంగితో పాటు ఇతర నాయకులు హేమ గమాంగ, జయరామ్ పాంగి, రామచంద్ర హన్సద, బృందాబన్ మాఝి, నబిన్ నందా, రతా దాస్, భగీరథి సేతి, మయాధర్ జేనా తదితరులు బీఆర్ఎస్ పార్టీలో చేరారు. pic.twitter.com/5nPYVBeeoJ
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) January 27, 2023
A farmer’s future
KCR, after inducting the leaders into the BRS, spoke at length about his passion to bring about a drastic change in the way the government is run.
Reiterating that “agli baar, kisan ki sarkar”, the chief minister, in chaste Hindi, asked why farmers shouldn’t become MLAs and why they should be at the receiving end all the time.
He recalled the 13-month agitation of farmers in Delhi and said that it made him feel sorry for the plight of farmers in a country that has resources that far surpass those in the US and China.
Let's build a Mahan Bharat so that all sections of the country are happy: BRS President, CM Sri KCR. pic.twitter.com/VP6i8OqWKr
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) January 27, 2023
He referred to the Mahanadi and Talcher coal fields in Odisha and wanted to know why the water in the great rivers should join the sea.
He also asked why there was an inadequate power supply in the state, even though it produced the finest coal in the country.
Stressing that one should have to take a grave vow to face challenges and move forward, he said that he would be at the forefront of this struggle.
“It is a pity that we are not able to use the natural resources and wealth at our disposal because of the skewed policies of the successive governments in the country,” he said.
Who wins finally?
He expressed dissatisfaction over the trend of coming to power by hook or crook and then forgetting the basic motto of serving the people.
“Do whatever you have to do to capture power. Then ignite riots, foment trouble, incite passions, divide the society, and finally win,” he said, emphasising that victory achieved in this fashion may be a victory for the politician but a defeat for democracy and the people.
“In any election, the people should win and not the politicians. Something should come out of the election for the people. The elections should not be a means to exploit the poor,” he said.
Also Read: Farmer, water, power: KCR projects national ambitions for BRS
The chief minister also took a dig at the BJP dispensation at the Centre, without mentioning it by name, that its objective seems to be to “socialise the losses and privatise the profits”.
He said that the current Union government does not hesitate to burden the people by increasing prices of all essential items whenever it is strapped for money, but when it makes good money, then it offers it on a platter to the Adanis, Ambanis, and Tatas.
The BRS promise
He called on the people to seek justice as there was no need for them to suffer in squalor due to the government’s policies. “If justice does not come easily, then one has to grab it. In this struggle, one has to bear the pain. But the only way to achieve it is to move forward,” he said.
WATCH LIVE: Odisha Ex CM Giridhar Gamang joining BRS in the presence of CM KCR at Telangana Bhavan https://t.co/JP2rY8Nkeu
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) January 27, 2023
The chief minister reiterated that “after BRS comes to power at the Centre”, power supply would be free to the farming sector. “We will bring 25 lakh Dalit families every year under Dalit Bandhu. Likewise, there would be Kisan Bandhu for all farmers on the lines of Rythu Bandhu in Telangana,” he said.
The chief minister said that he was confident of building a new nation as he is already successful in transforming Telangana into a land of plenty.
“These days, no farmer is dying by suicide in Telangana. But in other states, farmers have no other alternative. In Maharashtra, farmers are dying by suicide, which should move any sensible person,” he said.
Also Read: National ambitions: BRS sets up its Andhra Pradesh unit
Strengthening the party
He said that the country needed a new direction. “We have enough money. But we have no proper thought process. We lost direction long ago in the eagerness to win election after election. Yeh dhan ki bath nahi, yeh mann ki bath hai. One needs to have political will and commitment to rid the country of its economic ills,” he said.
The other leaders who joined the BRS included Hema Gamang, former MP, Shishir Gamang, Shourya Gamang, Snehranjan Das, general secretary BJP state Yuva Morcha, Rabindra Mohapatra, youth president and AICC member, Koraput Parliamentary constituency, Phalguni Sabar, P Gopal Rao, and Malya Ranjan Swain.
