‘After seeing him I realised that there are many things to learn, many things to observe. I have learnt many things’
NAVEENA GHANATE
Hyderabad
Dr Tamilisai Sounderrajan said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is a very strong politician.
“The Chief Minister is a very strong politician. He has a very long experience in the political field. It is my own experience too. Before the last four years, I too didn’t have the experience of meeting a CM. After seeing him I realised that there are many things to learn, many things to observe. I have learnt many things,” the Governor said.
She was responding to a question about her statements. “During the last press conference you had said if you can work with KCR you can work with anyone,” a reporter said.
She said, “I moved with two Chief Ministers. Now I am more experienced. In these four years, I have gained much more experience.”
On approving K. Satyanarayana and Dasoju Sravan to the Council as MLCs under the Governor Quota, she said, “The Governor’s MLC Quota is filled as per certain criteria. When the candidate does not fit in any of the categories mentioned then I hesitate. The Governor’s MLC Quota is not for political nominations. We need time. I cannot do it immediately. No office does it immediately. Even the Constitution doesn’t place restrictions on the Governor, but I am not using that to my advantage.”
She disapproved of the comments of Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and others against Sanatana Dharma and added that she is proud to be a citizen of ‘Bharat.’
Asked about the comments of Udhayanidhi Stalin and other TN leaders about Sanatana Dharma, she said it was projected (by some people in Tamil Nadu) that ‘Sanatana’ means the caste system.
“As I am from Tamil Nadu, I am also ideologically against what he said,” she added.
“There are a significant number of people who believe in that ideology, follow it and it’s a disciplined way of life. They think that Sanatana means the caste system. They project it that way. But there are so many good things in it,” she said.
“Politically, they gain by such talk. They have been doing that for the last 50 years. I think it is not correct to insult one group of people,” Dr Tamilisai said.
“So, why the discrimination? Your objective is to discriminate. But you are saying Sanatana Dharma is discriminatory,” she said.
Asked for her opinion on the ‘India–Bharat’ debate she quoted a Tamil phrase which says that it is a matter of pride that we belong to Bharat.“So, this phrase is very dear to us,” she said.
The Governor was speaking to reporters at an event organised at the Raj Bhavan here on Friday on the occasion of her completing four years in office as the Governor of Telangana.
On hospitals in Telangana, the Governor said, “I don’t deny that Telangana is a medical hub but there are drawbacks too. When I went to Osmania Medical College I found that one hospital has everything, others do not.”
She said that the Governor must not be identified with any political party even though she subscribes to a particular ideology. I do justice to the post I am holding.
“The distance between Raj Bhavan and Pragathi Bhavan is very less and I don’t see any gulf. Sometimes I may get support and sometimes I may not. I am not measuring the gulf. When I am invited I accept the invite and will go,” she said.
On holding back Bills, the Governor said, “This is not a fight. Some Bills we have passed and in some Bills I found flaws. I wanted to know how the Constitution can reach the people. This is not about politics. What do I gain by blocking the Bills? I am always people-oriented.”
She said welfare schemes like Ayushman Bharat are not reaching everyone. “Telangana being Number 1 means everyone should be able to get the benefits of being Number 1,” she said.
She said that she got back the RTC Bill on Thursday after sending it for review to the Law Department.
As her tenure is likely to end in a year, Dr Tamilisai said that this doesn’t mean political retirement.
“I took a different path and I didn’t come holding my father’s hand or sitting on my father’s shoulder,” she said.
“Even though I don’t get protocol here, I get it in Puducherry where I handle 20 IAS officers,” she said.
“You cannot stop me with court cases or criticism. Whatever position I may hold in future I will continue to have a connection with Telangana. Hostels should be improved in Telangana,” Dr Tamilisai said.
Refusing to comment on why BRS MLC Kavitha took up the 33% women’s reservation issue, the Governor said that women need reservations like in local bodies.
The Governor said that the money saved through ‘One Nation One Election’ can be used for education in all states.
