Farmers Movement Archive

Telangana: 5-year fissure culminates in Eatala Rajender’s exit

HYDERABAD: Former minister Eatala Rajender’s exit from the TRS was not sudden as his relationship with chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had soured in the last few years and culminated in his ouster from the ministry and later from the party itself. The Huzurabad legislator was a close aide of KCR since Telangana movement days and was touted as a good orator in the party after KCR. Party sources said it was not clear how and when the fissures started. The chasm between the two leaders, which roughly began five years ago, widened further in the past two years. There was a speculation in 2018 that Eatala may not make it to the cabinet and his name was included at the last minute. The ex-minister was not particularly happy when Gangula Kamalakar from Karimnagar district was inducted into the cabinet by KCR, mainly to checkmate him. Both KCR and Eatala have been making statements against each other on various occasions. The TRS leadership was ill at ease with some of Eatala’s comments in public domain and TRS working president KT Rama Rao took the former minister in his car to Pragathi Bhavan a few months ago seeking the latter’s clarification on his comments made in Veenavanka in Karimnagar district. During inauguration of a Rythu Vedika at Veenavanka, Eatala said: “Not money, caste or party, only good deeds and humanism are important.” He said he was upset, hurt and disappointed, but never left the right path. He also spoke about farmers’ agitation in Delhi and against the Centre’s farm bills. At one of the party workers’ meeting in Kamalapur in his constituency in 2019, Eatala said “minister’s post is not alms of anybody”, taking an indirect dig at KCR. At another meeting, he made sensational remarks, “we are the owners of the party flag (TRS) and my minister post is not anybody’s pittance on me.” Not one to take the comments lightly, KCR said at a party MLAs and MPs’ meeting that floating a party is not any easy task like “opening a pan dabba (pan shop)”. His comments were directed towards Eatala as reports emerged that he was planning to float a new party. There were reports that the CM did not take Eatala into confidence and invite him during meetings with ministers. The party leadership believed that Eatala held meetings with some leaders and employees’ unions leaders at his Shamirpet residence and Bengaluru against the party and tried to float a political party. Admitting that he had no good relationship with KCR, Eatala said the ties between them started straining in the past five years. He, however, said he had never crossed the party’s ‘Lakshman rekha’. “I said for achieving a ‘bangaru Telangana’, there was a need to continue IKP centres to procure paddy as rice mills are not capable of doing it. There was nothing wrong in it,” he said. He aid situation is such that opposition party MLAs cannot meet the ruling party elected representatives for getting works done. “During the Congress government in united AP, we (TRS MLAs) used to go to ministers and get the work done for our constituencies. Do we have such a situation in the TRS government,” he wondered.

The Times of India

2021-06-05

Hyderabad