Nearly two decades, he arrived in Sirpur Kagaznagar assembly constituency as a young IPS officer with the aim of curbing left wing extremism. Now, cop-turned-politician R.S.Praveen Kumar is seeking people’s mandate to become an MLA from the ‘No.1 constituency’ (Sirpur’s serial number is one). This is the third innings of his professional life. Between his long stint as a police officer across undivided Andhra Pradesh and his recent foray into politics, he served as secretary of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, enjoying a great degree of success with his trailblazing initiatives.
Now, as the Telangana chief of Bahujan Samaj Party, he has chosen Sirpur for his debut in electoral politics and is confident of repeating similar success. He spoke to Marri Ramu in a no-holds-barred interview. Edited excerpts:
Why should the people of Sirpur Kagaznagar Assembly constituency vote for you?
Sirpur Kagaznagar area has never been part of Telangana. It was under exploitation of people who had come from Andhra Pradesh. All these migrated persons who became rulers here and plundered the forest wealth. They created a mafia which has its presence in every sector, collecting commissions and secured benami contract works. Local people have no job opportunities and are left to live like slaves. If people of this area want to be liberated from this oppression, they should vote for BSP symbol of elephant. That should be the first priority of people.
Who is your main rival— BRS, BJP or Congress?
BJP and BRS combined is our main opposition. Both parties are in cahoots. They are cooperating with each other. They are contributing money to each other. They are working in tandem.
What would you say about a criminal case registered against you, accusing you of snatching ₹25,000 from a person during election campaign?
I feel ashamed of being part of the same police department. In 26 years of my service as an IPS officer, I won laurels and medals. Local police, without thinking anything, just registered case at the behest of BRS candidate and MLA Koneru Konappa. If it can happen to me — a former Additional Director General of Police — imagine what Mr. Koneppa and ruling BRS party MLAs must have been doing to the common people of Telangana for the past several years. I feel so sad that my khaki uniform is being misused by politicians.
What are your implementable promises for the people of this constituency?
I promise fearless, transparent administration... freedom from police atrocities, freedom from fake cases which are rampant here. People are scared to ask questions here. I will fight the mafia created by the local MLA till the very end. I promise to improve road network, which is only 30% of the total requirement. There are no job opportunities except at the Sirpur Paper Mill. We will create maximum job opportunities.
Will you be allying with any other political party after the elections in the State as part of your bigger goal of achieving Bahujan Raj?
We will support any party which promises at least one acre to the poorest of poor, allocate a big chunk of the budget to education and health, create 10 lakh jobs, and abolish belt shops selling liquor. We don’t mind not getting any ministry. We will serve as the opposition party.
How do you justify your campaign slogan that the “non-local” MLA Koneru Konappa should go or be sent away?
It was not coined by me. It is prominent and palpable in public domain for quite some time. The public is aware that present rulers had come from outside, occupied all resources and opportunities, and trampled upon locals. People want the exploitative Andhra leaders to leave Telangana. We are getting a lot of response. People want to be ruled by Telangana leaders.
