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The Rediff Interview/Basheeruddin Babu Khan

'The chief minister has gone a bit too far in voting in favour of the BJP'

The secular credentials of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh have come under a cloud with the only minorities representative in the state cabinet, Basheeruddin Babu Khan, quitting as major industries minister over Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's decision to support the Vajpayee government at the Centre.

From the time he announced his decision to resign on Sunday, Babu Khan has been flooded with telephone calls, not just from within the country but also from abroad, with friends and associates appreciating his decision. Babu Khan's home at Greenlands in Hyderabad has been teeming with people since his announcement.

Babu Khan, a well-known industrialist in the state, began his political career when N T Rama Rao offered him a ticket to contest the 1985 assembly election from Bodhan constituency. In the TDP ministry that followed, he was minorities welfare minister. Babu Khan, however, did not contest the 1989 election as he felt he "did not do enough for the minorities".

He was persuaded to contest the 1994 election from Bodhan and was made minister again.

This is not the first time Babu Khan has quit as minister. During NTR's regime too, he put in his papers when the high court passed strictures against him and another minister for doing business while continuing to be ministers.

Babu Khan spoke to Ch Sushil Rao in Hyderabad, to explain his decision and to announce his future course of action.

The chief minister has been trying to persuade you to withdraw your resignation. Will you succumb to the pressure?

He has been trying to explain away his decision to support the communal BJP as due to 'political compulsions'. Just like him even I have my own compulsions for quitting as minister. After all, I represent the minorities in the state who are quite unhappy with our party's decision to vote in favour of the BJP. I cannot be persuaded to withdraw my resignation.

The Muslims voted for the TDP during the recent election, and Chandrababu Naidu gives them a shock by supporting the communal BJP.

He says the Muslims en masse did not vote for the TDP. He argues that they voted strategically.

Was yours a lone viewpoint within the party? Or, do other leaders also feel the same way about the decision to back the BJP?

Everyone feels just the same as I feel. When I expressed my feelings to the party leadership, all I was told was that since the Congress had to be kept away from power, the BJP had to be supported. This was unacceptable to me.

Would you have been happier had the TDP stood by its earlier policy of equidistance from both the sides?

I had no objection to the equidistant theory, although even this was objected to by the minorities in the party. But I explained to them the party leadership's compulsions. But the chief minister has gone a bit too far in voting in favour of the BJP.

But didn't you try to warn the chief minister of the consequences of getting close to the BJP? Or, were you taken by surprise by his manouevre?

I cautioned and warned the chief minister, but the first shock came when he got the Speaker of the Lok Sabha elected with BJP support.

Now that Chandrababu Naidu has come out in support of the BJP government, would you doubt his secular credentials?

It is too early to say that. All said, he has done something for the minorities but this action of supporting the BJP has not gone down well with the Muslim community which is peeved.

Is your resignation the first step to leaving the party?

No, I intend to remain in the party. My task is cut out for me. There is no one in the party who knows more about the problems of the minorities than me. I wanted to convey my displeasure so I quit as minister.

But if your viewpoint was not heeded when you were minister, why should it be heard now that you are only an ordinary party member?

(Retorts angrily) I will not allow anyone to push me over. I have a responsibility to my community

I was never one to stick to the chair. I was a reluctant entrant into politics itself.

The Rediff Interviews