Praveen Kumar clears the air again, says he has no plans to jump ship

Former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar reaffirms loyalty to Bharat Rashtra Samithi, vows not to switch parties before elections.

Former IPS officer and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) candidate for Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha seat R. S. Praveen Kumar has reiterated that he is not one among the flock of sheep that will migrate to the Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Parliamentary elections.

Taking to a social media platform late on Friday night, following the decision of BRS senior leaders K. Keshava Rao and Kadiyam Srihari to leave the party and join the Congress, he said several activists had asked him to choose the “good path” taken by the duo while some had suggested him to stay with the party at the present junture.

Asking his well-wishers, followers and BRS ranks not to get worried, Mr. Praveen Kumar said he will not follow the blind flock and had no thoughts of going anywhere. He reiterated that he would stick to his decision of joining the BRS after being forced to end the BSP-BRS alliance in spite of all sorts of “temptations, lures and offers”.

He explained that he had taken a plunge into active politics not for the better future of his children or for amassing wealth or for fear of cases or for protocol or for a lavish life. Mr. Praveen Kumar said: “The society I was born and brought up has been discriminated for centuries and pushed into backwardness. All I want is to be their voice in the law-making/legislative bodies to bring about a change in their lives.”

“I believe there is a historic need to take the ‘bahujan’ and Telangana ideology together to bring the fruits of statehood to all the needy sections with the help of the Constitution, which too is facing a threat from fascist forces. The leadership of K. Chandrasekhar Rao has laid a strong foundation for new Telangana after achieving statehood and that is the reason why I have chosen the BRS as a platform,” he added.

He told BRS ranks that such betrayals, back-stabbings and harassment were not new to the party as long as they keep their place in the minds and hearts of people intact with good work. “It is our responsibility to teach these forces a lesson by explaining facts to people in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.