Chennai: All is not well between the KCR government and the Raj Bhavan in Telangana. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday sought to dispel the popular notion that she is bereft of any powers, saying nothing could prevent her from being a functional governor.
“I do not create any trouble or interfere, it is those who are running the government who feel that I am a hindrance. Be it Telangana or Puducherry, I am totally committed to my work,” she said on the release of a coffee table book to mark her completion of a turbulent three years as governor in Telangana.
“There is a perception that a governor doesn't have powers, which I have been able to prove wrong. I have been successful in ensuring those in power reach out to the people,” she said and cited an instance to buttress her point.
“I had woken up the CM sleeping in his palatial bungalow and made him step out of the mansion when Bhadrachalam was flooded. On hearing the news of the pilgrim center being flooded, I made up my mind to visit the affected people. I had adopted two villages there. But, the DGP and other officials dissuaded me from proceeding. I told them either to give security or leave it. There was no option for the CM but to follow suit. While I reached the spot early, the CM, who flew by air, had to take a detour by road midway through. And he reached five hours later,” Tamilisai said, adding, “I have ensured that those who should work are engaged.”
Meeting the affected people forced her to forego the farewell dinner hosted by the outgoing president Ram Nath Kovind, she recalled. “In such a situation, I had to be with the people. And I had informed him about my inability to be in New Delhi,” she explained.
On her being denied official aircraft and chopper, the governor said she had never used them once, despite being entitled. This has not prevented her from traveling the length and breadth of the state to meet the public in the hinterland. “Mere attendance at the Raj Bhavan itself had helped some women solve their family issues. However little it might be, it gives immense satisfaction,” she said.
Stressing the need for decency and decorum in public life, she referred to KCR boycotting the Independence Day event at the Raj Bhavan, though he had agreed to be present. “He doesn't even have the courtesy to inform us of his inability to attend. We waited for him and proceeded with the function. Also, I was denied the opportunity to address the Legislature, a customary practice. Public life requires dignified conduct,” the governor said.
In response to criticism from various quarters, especially the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu that she was poking her nose into the affairs of the state, Tamilisai said, “there is no bar on the governors from expressing their views. “If there is something wrong in Tamil Nadu, I will not hesitate to point it out. I will step into Tamil Nadu. I will not only poke my nose, but peep my head, wag my tail, and put my foot down in the state. I will never turn away from politics,” she asserted.
Turning personal, the governor likened her to superstar Rajinikanth to drive home how difficult it has been for her in politics. “In the movie '16 Vayathinile' (Age 16), when he was a budding actor, Rajinikanth played the role of 'parattai' (uncombed hair). When I entered the medical profession, my hair too looked uncombed, however, I tried. My mother too was worried about that. But, look, where I have reached like Rajinikanth. In life, I had been ignored by many. Yet, that has not deterred me,” she recalled.
“Even now, I pay for my food at the Raj Bhavan. I have taken my nonagenarian father to Hyderabad and looked after him. He is a former TN Congress Committee president and at this age wants to join the yatra (Bharat Jodo yatra). Like my father, destiny has made me state president of a national party before being made governor,” said Tamilisai.
