Along with the new Chief Minister of Telangana, A Revanth Reddy, 11 ministers were sworn-in and among them was Dansari Anasuya, also known as Seethakka. Holding a Cabinet Minister rank, she is the Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Women and Child Welfare in the State. But her story to ministership is a long and arduous one.
She warns that there will be several people to see her and she may not be able to spare much time. Sure enough, the fourth floor of the Old MLA quarters has a long queue of people waiting to meet her. She greets all, before sitting down for a quick chat.
“The courtroom where I once went as a client, some years later, I was appearing before the same court as a lawyer,” says the 52-year-old naxalite-turned-lawyer-turned-politician, Seethakka, who belongs to the tribal community.
Seethakka is a three-time legislator from the Mulugu constituency. Not one to hide her past, she says she was influenced by the speeches of those cadre who were part of the Naxal movement. “My village is near a forest. We saw the Naxal movement at close quarters. I too wanted to be part of the group which wanted to change society. In 1997, I left and picked up my studies. I worked with an NGO and studied law and practised as a lawyer. In 2004 I joined the Telugu Desam Party and later joined Congress in 2017,” she explains. Seethakka went on to complete her PhD in political science in 2022.
Without wasting much time, she has dived straight into the job assigned to her and in her capacity as the Panchayati Raj Minister she has signed files for upgradation of 3,989 mini anganwadi centres.
The rural areas have been the key vote bank for the Congress and therefore, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development will be the key ministries for the new government to excel in.
Focus areas
Asked what will be her priority area and how does she propose to bridge the urban-rural divide, she explains, “Yes, remote villages are very backward even now. Creating good infrastructure will be a focus area. They have to be given proper roads and connectivity has to be good.
“Because of the lack of basic civic facilities locals suffer from diseases such as dengue, cholera, malaria,” she says, adding that “we have to solve these issues. Besides, village connectivity is also very important. Then people can come easily and make use of government schemes, utilise medical facilities and so on. Road connectivity will also mean access to proper education. It is said that the State that has good road transportation will succeed. And I also hold the same view,” she emphasises.
“Now I am going to start focusing on internal roads and drainage system along with connectivity of one village to another. That’s very important,” she adds.
For her officers, she says, they need to understand that they are not doing a 9-to-5 job but they need to connect with people and understand human behaviour. As infrastructure improves, it will also result in generating better employment, which currently seems to be tilted to the urban cluster, particularly Hyderabad, she says.
“Today, investments are coming to Hyderabad and surrounding areas. It’s not going anywhere else. Development is centralised. All other district people are coming to Hyderabad, which is getting crowded, resulting in infrastructural issues including traffic bottlenecks,” she elaborates.
“So, once we create good employment, opportunities will increase and then all parts of the State will look equal. The current rural-urban divide will go,” she says.
All three portfolios in a way are interlinked. “Panchayati Raj is another important area... so nurturing every village by creating good rural infrastructure is my focus. Along with good life comes safety of people, particularly women and children. We have to ensure there is a good education system and suffering due to malnutrition is brought down,” she emphasises.