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Not dummy, but a daddy: Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao hits back at trolls; vows to prove his mettle

Not dummy, but a daddy: Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao hits back at trolls; vows to prove his mettle

Time of Indiaa day ago
HYDERABAD: In a bid to assert his authority and dispel doubts over his leadership, newly-appointed Telangana
BJP
president N Ramchander Rao declared on Thursday that he would prove to be a 'daddy' to those who dismiss him as a mere 'dummy' candidate.
Rao said, "Some people on social media call me a dummy. Let them wait and watch-I will show them what I'm truly capable of. I've been jailed 14 times, faced political violence, and fought against Maoists. I'm holding back now to unite the party."
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On July 5, 2021, Father Stan Swamy left us, succumbing to failing health aggravated by the deliberate denial of medical care by a repressive state as part of its devious strategy in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. Four years have passed since this institutional murder of Father Stan. We seethe in indignation on the very memory of this day, when the real, violent, blood-thirsty face of the state unravelled to one and all. The fourth anniversary of Father Stan's martyrdom is significant to keep alive the memory of how this repressive state targeted an octogenarian Jesuit priest. It twice conducted raids and searches at his residence-cum-research-and-resource centre in Ranchi, called Bagaicha. He was then named in trumped up cases, culminating in his arrest in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. 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He did this so movements can take place against the colossal catastrophe that policies of the state inflict on the people. He had written extensively against such policies while exhorting for a united resistance of the masses. Joining hands with the Pathalgadi resistance, he strongly argued for Gram Sabhas right to self-rule. The Adivasi-Dalit-working youth of the region who had embraced the path of struggles in this context were being criminalised and false cases were slapped on them. Most of them were branded Maoists, and put behind bars in hundreds and thousands. Stan embarked on a rigorous documentation of all such arrests and unmasked the real repressive nature behind these. He showed that the ruling establishment despised youth exercising their democratic right to protest against state policies that would destroy their lives and livelihoods. Against such arrests, Stan had moved a public interest litigation at the Jharkhand high court, exposing the real nature of government policies. He had voiced with great concern the plight of the Adivasis who were forced to abandon their land in search of livelihood, and the ravages caused by the intrusion of capital in the social and cultural fabric of Adivasi life. He was one with the everyday life of the Adivasis, their ups and downs, their struggles for a better future. The ruling class feared the fact that Stan had become one with the struggling masses. This is their never-ending fear against the voices of resistance, against the ideas of change, and thus they take refuge in reactionary tactics to do away with revolutionary movements. The present Brahminical-fascist rulers have heightened the repression on the masses to unforeseen levels. The government has been violating constitutionally guaranteed special provisions and rights of the Adivasis. Thousands of hectares of dense, biodiverse rich verdant forests are being destroyed at the behest of extractive, venture capitalist interests. For facilitating the flow of extracted minerals to the outer world, jungles are being cleared for roads that ply trailers and for railway tracks which can help in the transport of minerals. Adivasi villages are being uprooted and trees felled in thousands of hectares. Besides railways and roads, under the garb of protecting mines, police stations and paramilitary camps are being set up, resulting in further destruction of forests and displacement. All these self-destructive steps are given the moniker development. Those who oppose these policies, those Adivasis who organise movements to protect their jal, jungle and jameen, their valuable resources are branded anti-development, anti-national and terrorist – to brutally and violently repress them. The need of the hour is a united resilient resistance against this game of unbridled and irreversible destruction of earth under the smokescreen of development. Also read: Remembering Stan Swamy, Whose Struggle Was Driven by Empathy and Love This Brahminical-fascist dispensation in alliance with capitalism have brought increasing miseries to the vast sections of women, Adivasis, Dalits, minorities, various oppressed nationalities, peasants, workers and so on. The casteist atrocities on Dalits have increased manifold in these times. Under direct state patronage, like never before, communal violence against minorities in a planned way have increased. The present dispensation which openly espouses patriarchal values have short shrifted increasing violence on women as part of the so-called rich cultural heritage and societal traditions of the subcontinent in connivance of such despicable crimes. 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The situation of political prisoners in incarceration is a telltale instance of how the government of the day and the prison administration join hands to deliberately ignore their very existence, often denying their basic rights and consciously hindering them facilities. Even when given bail, the system offers tough bail conditions so as to make it difficult to ensure their release. There is criminal delay and negligence in timely medical care when an illness is reported. This is all a part of the same toolkit of repressive designs of a Brahminical-fascist state. The institutional murder of Father Stan is one among scores of such despicable instances that have gone unreported in the prisons in India. The demise of Saquib Nachan in Tihar Central Prison while undergoing treatment for serious medical conditions is another example of the state denying a prisoner basic rights. Also read: Five Years of Incarceration – and the Audacity of Hope But history shows that repression is doomed. It cannot be sustained. And struggles cannot be curtailed through the horrors of repression. The farmers' movement that rocked the country very recently, the countrywide protests against CAA-NRC, the struggle of the workers at the Maruti Suzuki factory, the organisation of the Elgar Parishad convention and the ensuing Bhima Koregaon movement, the Pathalgadi movement, the Todgutta (Gadchiroli) movement, the organised resistance of women in various walks of life in the country, peasants' and workers' struggles and Dalit-Adivasi resistance movements have kept alive the barricades of resistance while at the same time striving towards a united resistance against fascism. Even after his martyrdom, Father Stan is a beacon of resistance, standing with us like a comrade in arms. He is one with the voice of all of us, one with the resolve of his comrades in Jharkhand and at the same time strengthens the resolve of the toiling masses in this country to never give up. Father Stan is alive as the symbol of our resolve for justice and liberation. He was daring, fearless and steely in his resolve while at the same time kind hearted, compassionate, sensitive and understanding. Ahead of his martyrdom day, we remember and salute his fearless and cheerful persona, and his unmitigated love and commitment to the oppressed, exploited and struggling masses. Father Stan lives always as an abiding spirit in our hearts, dreams and struggles. We, his comrades and co-defendants in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, in protest against his state-sponsored institutional murder, will observe a day of hunger strike on July 5, 2025. We call upon the freedom-loving struggling masses, people's organisations, progressive groups, political parties and individuals to organise meetings, dharnas, processions and strikes on July 5 in memory of Father Stan and the values he espoused. Johar Fr. Stan. Jai Bhim. Lal Salam. Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor is a human rights defender and member of the Kabir Kala Manch cultural troupe. Sagar Gorkhe is a human rights defender and member of the Kabir Kala Manch cultural troupe. Jyoti Jagtap is a human rights defender and member of the Kabir Kala Manch cultural troupe. Mahesh Raut is an activist working with the Adivasis in Gadchiroli. Hany Babu is was an associate professor of linguistics at Delhi University. Surendra Gadling is a human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist. All the authors of this piece are in jail over what the NIA believes is their connection to the Elgar Parishad case.

Sulking over denial of Cabinet berth, Mancherial MLA rejects chief whip post
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Sulking over denial of Cabinet berth, Mancherial MLA rejects chief whip post

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