I feel my stand (not swearing VK Sasikala in as CM) has been vindicated by SC
In my public life, that has spanned over 45 years, I have swam against the stream on a number of occasions, but my actions were never highlighted so much until the recent political upheavals in Tamil Nadu.
I feel my stand (not swearing VK Sasikala in as chief minister) has been vindicated by the Supreme Court’s ruling (The apex court has upheld her conviction in the 1991 disproportionate assets case).
All my decisions and steps have been mostly welcomed. She was not an elected representative. Moreover, the Supreme Court had announced that it was going to deliver its verdict in the case soon. In that scenario, it was only appropriate for me to wait for the verdict before taking any call.
I had the opportunity to visit an ailing J Jayalalithaa at Chennai’s Apollo Hospital on a few occasions. During one of such meeting, she had even raised her thumb signalling that she was on way to recovery. Some people ask whether I had sought a legal advice on the political developments in Tamil Nadu. I had consulted Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi as well as legal luminaries Soli Sorabjee and K Parasaran. I have submitted a report with minute details to the president of India, prime minister and Union home minister.
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| 'All my decisions and steps have been mostly welcomed. She was not an elected representative.' |
As a governor, it is not proper for me to share these details. I am thankful to the media, the panellists in TV debates and others who supported or opposed my stand.
My swimming against the stream dates back to my childhood. I come from Karimnagar district of Telangana, a hotbed of naxal movement. While my elder brothers, Ch Rajeshwara Rao and Ch Hanumantha Rao, were highly influenced by communism, I was attracted to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), thanks to a local RSS pracharak, Samudrala Nagabhushanam, whose work impressed me a lot.
In college days, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was my inspiration. Atalji’s logic, analytical speeches and his ability to provide a clear direction and agenda to the party workers impressed me a lot. I was imprisoned under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during Emergency and lodged at the Warangal Central Prison.
It was a rare coincidence that I and my elder brother, Ch Rajeshwara Rao, were floor leaders of our respective parties — the BJP and the CPI — in the undivided Andhra Pradesh Assembly at the same time in late 1980s.
We used to fight in the House over various subjects, but the ideological differences did not affect our relations at home. I believe that the age gap (he was 22 years older than me) between us made me stay away from communism.
I had also faced a serious threat to my life when I was elected president of the Osmania Law College Students' Union as a representative of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1971. I practiced criminal law in Karimnagar court till 1985, when I first became a member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. I won three consecutive Assembly elections and was also the Bjp legislature party leader. I also won two consecutive Lok Sabha elections in 1998 and 1999.
The shift to Raj Bhavan, however, was not on my mind. I came to know about my appointment as governor of Maharashtra through TV news. The party judges its workers like a father does his children.
I just want to let you know that I am emotionally attached to the movement against the Nizam rule. I built a memorial to the martyrs who laid down their lives demanding the merger of the state of Hyderabad with India, at Parkal in Warangal. I also installed a bust of freedom fighter Komaram Bheem and journalist Shoaibullah Khan. Khan was shot dead by the Nizam’s police for writing an article stating that Hyderabad is the heart of India, while India is the body and that the heart cannot be separated from the body. He, thus, supported the struggle for accession of Hyderabad to the Indian Union.
There are many places of historic importance which have been forgotten, but need to be brought to light. There is a need to include a chapter on the importance of these places in school textbooks.
Out of my love for history, I have introduced three new things to Mumbai Raj Bhavan. I have built a memorial at a place where the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had unveiled the map of Maharashtra on its Foundation Day (May 1, 1960). I have also built a sunrise yoga gallery, which has been opened to the common people. My directions to the engineers of Public Works Department to bring down an old wall led to the discovery of a large underground bunker in Raj Bhavan last year. I am planning to convert the bunker into a museum on the lines of "Maharashtra Darshan" with light and sound show.
As the governor of Maharashtra, I have been encouraging the tribal development department to pay more attention to the pathetic condition of ashram schools ran by the department across the state.
I have made it mandatory for the government to transfer five per cent of the Tribal Sub Plan fund directly to the respective gram panchayats in the scheduled areas. By another notification, I granted the rights of high value minor forest produce such as bamboo, honey and tendu leaves to gram sabhas. I'm glad that many gram sabhas have auctioned bamboo this year and made good money.
Besides working, I love to write and have penned various articles and poems in Telugu journals. A collection of these articles has been published under the title, Uniki (Existence). A coffee table book, In the service of the people, on my two-and-half years of experience in Mumbai Raj Bhavan, is the latest in my series of books.
I hope to continue writing...
(As told to Kiran D Tare.)