'I am not the target, my leader KCR is'

KALVAKUNTLA KAVITHA, Member of Legislative Council and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister (CM) and founder of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), is working on expanding her party's national footprint. In conversation with Nitin Kumar, Kavitha talks about BRS' expansion plans and the Telangana model for India's development. She weighs in on her fight for the women's reservation Bill and being caught in the cross hairs of investigating agencies. Edited excerpts:

- Nitin Kumar

An investigation agency questioned you on the alleged liquor scam. Do you want to explain?

I am not the target, my leader KCR is. He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party. Today, 95 per cent of cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation are against Opposition parties. Surprisingly, the conviction rate is not even 0.2 per cent.

BSR has national expansion plans as it pivots on the Telangana model. What is that model?

The Telangana model is one where the empowerment of citizens is the only goal of the administration. It ensures everybody's needs are met - from social security and education to employment.

The model ensures social security for its 4.4 million people. Telangana spends ₹42,000 crore on pensions for its people, including women and widows.

We are spending ₹7,000 crore to repair 26,000 schools. In more than 1,000 model schools, the government provides worldclass education to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, the economically backward classes, and the minorities.

For educated and skilled labourers, our industrial policies have helped us get ₹3.5 trillion investment in eight years. Roughly 20,000 industrial units are functional in the state, employing 3 million people.