Minister faces urban voters 1st time

Hyderabad, March 24: For the first time in his 40-year-old political career, the Union minister Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, will try his luck among urban voters. He started his political career from Kalwakurti, a very backward area in Mahbubnagar district, in 1969 and won the seat four times.

In an exclusive interview to this newspaper, the “Best Parliamentarian” disclosed that he had no “personal” stand on the Telangana issue except that taken by the party high command. “I sincerely support the statement issued by the high command which was read out in the Assembly by the Chief Minister,” Mr Reddy said.
When asked about his place in the party and his future plans, the Union minister said that he preferred to be a party spokesperson rather than be a gladiator.
As the urban development minister, Mr Reddy had sanctioned Rs 2,200 crore for the Krishna water scheme and sewerage schemes at Rajendranagar and Serilingampally.
“Normally candidates do something for their constituency after winning the election. But in my case it is different. Most of the segments falling under the Chevella constituency have already benefited from my work,” Mr Reddy said.
However, his political career has not been a smooth one. He has been criticised for the enormous delay in the expansion of National Highway-9. Mr Jaipal Reddy clarified that he had done his job and sanctioned funds way back in 2007.
“The two companies, Soma Engineering and Madhucon, went to court and got stay orders that stalled work,” Mr Reddy explained.
Mr Jaipal Reddy is also credited for launching low-floor luxury buses across the country. “We have to improve the public transport system. The planet cannot afford to waste precious fuel and damage the atmosphere any longer,” Mr Reddy said.
After his Miryalaguda constituency ceased to exist after delimitation, Mr Jaipal Reddy was in a dilemma as two Assembly segments merged into one Lok Sabha segment and three merged in another. “I would have opted for the Nalgonda seat, if it was a single constituency. I did not want to unseat any sitting MP, so I chose Chevella,” he added.
Mr Jaipal Reddy has also launched a website for people to access his speeches.