As jingle bells rang out at the Christmas celebrations at LB Stadium on Friday night, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made one comment which looked very innocuous but, in retrospect, seemed to have been loaded with a political charge. He had said that Telangana, forever, would remain a shining example for a secular state. The point is the timing of his assertion that is making all the difference. With opposition to CAA spreading like a conflagration across the nation, the chief minister’s observation that Telangana will remain secular implied that he was against the CAA and NRC. He probably had in mind municipal elections, which are likely to be conducted in January.
That TRS is opposed to CAA is no news. The TRS MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had voted against the Bill, but the chief minister, ever since CAB became CAA, had not gone into an offensive just as the way Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab and Kerala did.
Though the BJP leaders in Telangana had been taunting the TRS to explain to people of the State why it had voted against the CAA in Parliament, the TRS had not taken up the bait. MPs arguing against the CAA in Parliament is one thing and the TRS leaders not taking a belligerent stand against the BJP on this issue, is another. For one thing, TRS is known for pursuing ambivalent policies. Earlier it supported abrogation of Article 370 but back in the State, no TRS leader spoke defending their MPs’ action in Delhi and the reasons are as clear as day light.
The TRS stand in Parliament on the two issues made one thing clear: the party wants to ride two horses. When Article 370 came up, it wanted to be nice to Hindus and when CAA came along, it voted against it so that it could be nice to Muslims. But back in the State, the party remained silent on two issues with an intent not to hurt the other, KCR appears to believe that by being ambiguous he could get the best of both worlds.
He probably remembers that the word he uttered in Parliament elections - Hinduvulu, Bonduvulu - helped the BJP corner four Lok Sabha seats. Though he made amends immediately that there could no better Hindu than him, it did not cut any ice with the Hindus. He now knows that he cannot take them for granted. After TRS MPs voted against CAA in Parliament, TRS leader B Vinod Kumar, had said that since CAA is a Central Act, the State may have to implement it, which could be seen as an attempt to assuage the ruffled feelings of the Hindus who may not have taken kindly to the TRS voting against the CAA. Anyway, its ally MIM is there to consolidate the Muslim votes with its vehement opposition to CAA and help the TRS on the day of reckoning, should Muslims suspect KCR’s pro-Muslim credentials.
With BJP waiting in the wings to challenge him in the next Assembly elections, any comment out of turn that might hurt Hindu sentiment will be a godsend for BJP which is ready to exploit it for its gain. It is already busy, readying its arsenal to take on the TRS. Then there is Congress which is waiting for KCR step on a political minefield that would help it win back its Muslims. They had won three Lok Sabha seats and polled substantial number of votes in many other constituencies.
Muslims are an important constituency which TRS does not want to lose. They account for about 12 per cent population in Telangana and their share of Hyderabad population is a whopping 43.5 per cent, according to Telangana Social Development Report. If broken down to Assembly assembly segments, they could play a crucial role in deciding the fortunes of the contestants.
The TRS MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had voted against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, but the chief minister, after the CAB became CAA, has not gone into an offensive the way Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab and Kerala have