VIJAYAWADA: BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav has said the party must work as a “constructive opposition and a critical friend” of the State government. Just because the Centre, as per its constitutional responsibility, stated that it wouldn’t intervene in the capital issue, the party will not stop questioning the rationale behind the YSRC government’s three-capital plan. The party must work with a ‘killer instinct’ to become a ‘dominant force’ to fill the Opposition vacuum prevailing in the State and get rid of the tag of ‘junior partner’ tag, he added.
Speaking at the charge-taking ceremony of the newly-appointed State unit chief Somu Veerraju here on Tuesday, Ram Madhav said, “Uttar Pradesh, which is four times bigger in size than Andhra Pradesh, has only one capital — Lucknow. Isn’t the administration going on well and effectively there? If three capitals are proposed in the guise of corruption that took place in the making of Amaravati, the BJP won’t let the three capitals become a tool for three-fold corruption.”
Clearing the air regarding the Centre’s role in the capital issue, he observed, “The Centre filing an affidavit in the High Court that the issue of capital was in the State’s jurisdiction was as per the constitutional framework. Just like the Centre did not intervene when the former TDP government hastily retreated to Vijayawada even though Hyderabad was the common capital, and just like when the Centre refrained from intervening when Amaravati was chosen as the new capital, the Centre will not interfere even now. It will do its responsibility as per the Indian Constitution. But, that doesn’t mean we will stop questioning the rationale behind the three capital plan.” He, however, reiterated that the party will fight to protect the interests of Amaravati farmers.
Ram Madhav noted that the BJP was not in politics for charity. “We are here to come to power and serve the State and its people. Ours politics is not dynastic, power hungry and with vested interests. On the one hand, we must strengthen our party at the grassroots, and on the other, we must emerge as a strong political force in AP. Otherwise our aim to form the government in 2024 will remain a slogan and we will make a similar slogan for 2029. It is not easy to grow in AP. We should work with killer instinct and fill the void of Opposition in the State. The party members should be with warrior spirit and come on to the streets to fight, if need be,” he said.
Ram Madhav advised the State unit not to put the entire responsibility of growth in AP on the shoulders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Narendra Modi will be there for another 10 to 15 years, but you shouldn’t rest your weapons on his shoulders to go to war. The unit has to stop calling Delhi to seek intervention when issues crop up. Delhi will do whatever it can as always, but the State unit should grow by itself here,” he explained.
Earlier, Somu Veerraju formally took charge as the State party chief. Speaking on the occasion, he expressed confidence that the BJP-Jana Sena alliance will form the government in 2024. Lashing out at the YSRC and the TDP, he described the duo as family and power-hungry parties working for their own benefits. “We will take up the issues plaguing the public. Our focus will be only on real and genuine problems,” he asserted. Somu, who is also an MLC, demanded that the YSRC government return developed plots to the farmers of Amaravati. “The 64,000 plots earmarked for the farmers should be developed as promised in the past. The State government is also responsible to take care of the farmers, who had given lands. If not, the BJP-Jana Sena alliance will develop them when we come to power in 2024. This is our commitment and the Centre has no role in this,” he remarked.
Somu claimed that the philosophy of the BJP —’Antyodaya’ (development till the last mile), ‘Sushasan’ (good governance), ‘Vikas’ (development) and ‘Rashtravaad’ (nationalism) — was the only political alternative for AP Pradesh to witness growth. The BJP’s mantra was all-round development of the State. “Development shouldn’t be confined to the capital alone,” he said.
‘Somu’s appointment part of grooming of leaders: Ram Madhav
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said that the appointment of Somu Veerraju as the State unit chief was just a part of development of leadership in the party. “Senior leaders served as national presidents for only two to three years . This is a part of grooming leaders. It shouldn’t be seen as removal of Kanna Lakshminarayana, who had toured across the State and built the party. We did not even have candidates to contest in the past and now we have capable and competent ones, thanks to his efforts,” he said.