First K Kavitha interview since ouster from BRS: ‘Zero communication with brother, not in touch with father’

* Was it tough for you to step away from the BRS?

I did not step away from the BRS; they threw me out. I had no option. Suspension (letter served to her) from an organisation like the BRS, where I have worked for the past 20 years and had emotional and familial bonds with the people who worked in the Telangana movement … When.they suspend you, it is an insult and not a regular party matter.

* Did your resignation serve its purpose you think?

Mine was not a political fight. Mine was a fight for self-respect. When my private communication to my leader (her letter to KCR in May) got leaked and I asked the party for introspection, it was never addressed. No show-cause notices were issued. That is where we are, even after my resignation.

* Was your relationship with your brother and BRS working president K T Rama Rao (popularly known as KTR) under strain before the letter?

Not that I know of. But after the letter, my brother never spoke to me and I did not speak to my brother. There is zero communication.

* What about your father? Have you been in touch with him?

No, I have been in touch only with my mother.

* What are your plans now?

I am certainly going to be in active politics. About launching a party, I have not decided as of today. I already have a platform called Telangana Jagruthi, which I use to raise a lot of campaigns about social issues. I will continue to do so. And when I decide to launch a party, I will certainly call a press conference and tell everybody.

* Will you field a candidate in the Jubilee Hills by-election?

I have not decided anything on this matter. Anything about my political activity, there is no decision made as of now.

* What about the future of Jagruthi? Isn’t it a political organisation as well?

It is a civil society organisation. For the past 20 years, we have been working for Telangana. Though I was a BRS public representative (first MP, then MLC) for a short while, Jagruthi has been doing its work independently. When we take a political turn, we will certainly let you know.

* So, you are not ruling out the possibility of forming a new party or going political with Jagruthi?

I never thought I would be suspended from BRS. So, at this point in my life, I cannot rule out any possibility. Let us see where it goes.

* Former Minister Harish Rao said that his life is an open book. This was in response to your allegations against him. What is your response?

I have asked many questions (pointed at Harish Rao). By a single statement which says ‘my life is an open book’, none of my questions about him were answered. If not today, tomorrow, if not to me, he will have to answer these questions to the public.

* Where is the BRS headed? You have complained about the party not having any ground-level activity led by its leaders.

Today is September 19, just a few days away from the local body polls that are to be held on September 30. The main issue in this election is 42% political reservation for BCs (Backward Classes), which I have been taking up. Has the BRS to date commented on it? Why are they not taking a stand on major political issues?

* You have accused Telangana CM Revanth Reddy of having an underhanded deal with some leaders of the BRS. But he has asked you to keep him ‘out of your family feud’. 

The people of Telangana are watching when a CM says something like this. Why is there no action against a Rajya Sabha ex-MP (of the BRS) against whom the CM himself had raised a Rs 100 crore GST fraud allegation? About Harish Rao, Revanth Reddy himself has said a hundred things on the floor of the Assembly: about how he has looted public money. If there is no underhanded dealing, then why is there no action? If Harish Rao gives a noble quote and the CM gives a noble quote and thinks that they can get away with it, where will people get the answers?

* Why do you think the mantle of the party leadership went to your brother?

(Preference for a son) is a major factor in any family in this country and it is not different in my family as well.

* Before you, Y S Sharmila struggled to find space in her party YSRCP, launched her own outfit, and later joined the Congress. Is there a parallel here?

I always had my independent platform. I was always speaking on public issues and I was never dependent on my own party. I did not ask for anything from the party. I don’t think they could completely discard me just because I am a woman. But for speaking the truth, and for asking uncomfortable questions, I was made a victim of the coteries (within the party).

* You talk about coteries and conspiracy. Do you worry about your father?

Very much so. I worry about him. I had told my brother in 2016 that files from the irrigation department (headed by Harish Rao) were being sent to the CMO without due procedure. I had requested him to keep an eye out for our father. Today, when we look at the Kaleshwaram report (P C Ghose commission of inquiry report), it is all about procedural lapses and not corruption per se. Revanth Reddy, who knows that there are procedural lapses, has been targeting not the then minister for irrigation (Harish Rao) but the former CM. It is a conspiracy and he is doing it by design.

* You have accused the Congress of having a deal with some BRS leaders. Is there a deal between the BRS and the BJP?

I had said earlier that there were efforts to merge the BRS with the BJP. At that time, I had told (KTR) that the BRS, which has about 70 lakh workers, should not be merged with the BJP. Now, it looks like they are leaning that way, towards the BJP. The whole picture will come out only when the elections are declared.

* What is K Kavitha’s endgame?

I came from the people’s midst. Being born to such a great father who has built a luminescent legacy for himself in the state … I fought to preserve the culture of this land. I fought through and through in the Telangana agitation. Inspiration was my father, the hard work was mine. So, I see my endgame as being among the people and working for them.

* What if the BRS wants you back?

That ship has sailed for me. When the BRS did not act against a fellow MLC who made lewd comments about me, I took it very personally. When my own family and the party did not respond to the lewd comments, that ship sailed for me on that very day.