YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) founder and newly-emerged opposition leader in Telangana, Y.S. Sharmila on Saturday branded the forthcoming Huzurabad bypoll as an election born out of vengeance.
Sharmila was referring to the Telangana Assembly constituency which fell vacant in the light of former health minister Etala Rajender resigning in protest after major differences cropped up between him and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Rao stripped Rajender of his ministerial portfolio, following allegations of land encroachment, resulting in the latter exiting the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and jumping ship to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Delhi in the presence of the party’s senior national leaders recently.
After these developments, Sharmila hinted that the bypoll was aimed at extracting revenge on each other by Rajender and Rao.
Consequently, she declared that her party will not contest the forthcoming Huzurabad bypoll.
“Is there any use of the Huzurabad election? We will not contest Huzurabad bypoll,” said Sharmila.
She reasoned if contesting the bypoll would bring jobs to the unemployed or three acres of land to Dalits?
“If it is promised that these things will be done, then we will also contest the election,” she said.
Sharmila asserted that she grew up in Telangana and is well aware of its culture.
“I ate sheer korma at a friend’s house for Eid and also relished food for Bathukamma and Bonalu festivals at another friend’s place. You are asking about my religion. Everybody will have their religion. You have your religion and I have my religion,” she responded to a reporter’s query.
Sharmila went on to question the reporter if she was invited to cover the press conference as a television channel’s journalist or a journalist belonging to a religion?
“What work do you have with religion? I have my religion, you have your religion. Who cares what you do at your home or what I do at my home,” she added.
