Chandrababu Can’t Fool BCs Anymore
Kommineni Srinivasa Rao
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is out to take the Backward Classes for a ride, yet again. He has been raining sops over the past few days through his announcements. Chandrababu Naidu clearly rattled by the overwhelming success of YSR Congress party president, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Padayatra, has been making these pronouncements promising a range of sops.
YS Jagan had given a shape to his plan of governance in the form of Navarathnalu. Ironically, Chandrababu Naidu, who made fun of YS Jagan and claims to have 40 years of experience and calls himself an ‘industry’, is now resorting to copying the schemes announced by the YSR Congress party president. Earlier he had plagiarised YSRCP’s promises on power to farmers, Rs.2000 pension, and financial assistance to DWCRA women’s groups.
Chandrababu Naidu‘s latest pre-election gimmick is announcing Corporations among other things, for backward classes, exactly on the lines of the promise made by YS Jagan. Again, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has no answer to the question as to why he did not act on this all these years. Why is Chandrababu Naidu and for that matter, his colleagues who ridiculed Navarathnalu announced by YS Jagan claiming that the entire budget of the US would not be enough for such a spectrum of schemes, in such a hurry to implement them? Why are they copying them so blatantly, when they had said that the YSR Congress president lacks experience?
Does Chandrababu Naidu truly have respect for the backward classes? Does he have genuine concern for their welfare? In the past, NT Rama Rao as chief minister, had accorded a special place to the backward classes. NTR gave them reservations even in political positions. At the same time the backward classes stood by the TDP under NTR’s rule and helped the party to a large extent.
Chandrababu Naidu gives the impression that he treated the backward class communities as vote banks. Perhaps, BCs are getting tired of Chandrababu Naidu because while he was into his address at the Rajahmundry Jai Ho convention meant for them, the audience started leaving the venue. Videos related to this have gone viral on social media networks. Even while people were leaving the venue, Chandrababu Naidu continued his speech aware that it was being telecast live on his hand-picked yellow channels.
Some points stick out with regard to Chandrababu Naidu and his treatment of BCs. For example, though he had made senior BC leader, KE Krishnamurthy the deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, it is widely perceived that he was reduced to a dummy, thus humiliating the backward classes. This is the a common view. There is widespread criticism that though KE Krishnamurthy is the revenue minister of Andhra Pradesh, he was ignored in issues related to acquisition of land for the new capital Amravati and other important matters. It is also seen among TDP sections that KE Krishnamurthi came to terms with things, only for his own interests.
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister has also come in for criticism with respect to his announcement on reservations for the Kapu community. Analysts say that he is creating strife between them and other social groups. Chandrababu Naidu has now earned the dubious distinction of trying to deceive both members of the Kapu community as also BCs. However, the worst aspect with regarding Chandrababu Naidu’s treatment of BC groups concerns his letter with respect to a lawyer who was to become a judge. Chandrababu Naidu, at that time blocked his elevation and caused immense harm to the self-respect of the BC communities, as was exposed by Justice Eshwaraiah. Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to the Centre that there was a case of women’s harassment pending against the advocate in question, among other things, it was disclosed.
However, exposing the Andhra Pradesh chief minister's false claims, the Modi government elevated the judge after a due inquiry and Chandrababu Naidu fell silent. Doesn’t this prove that he had levelled false charges in the first place? BC communities feel humiliated on this score.
One is shocked when one sees videos related to Chandrababu Naidu‘s treatment of Nayi Brahmins at the state secretariat. Can a chief minister speak and behave like this? This is the question that comes to one’s mind. “Do what you like“, the Chief Minister is seen saying. He not only threatened them but when asked to implement his promise of minimum wages, he brusquely tells them that he would not.
Now Chandrababu Naidu goes around making a number of promises to Nayi Brahmins. BC leaders question sarcastically whether they would be allowed to enter the proposed BC Bhavan Chandrababu promised to build in Amaravati, considering that he had humiliated them when they went to the state secretariat. Similarly, Chandrababu Naidu wagged his finger at fishermen in Visakhapatnam when they reminded him of his election promises. They too were threatened by him.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, after having promised to include the washermen community or Rajakas in SCs and Boyas in STs is now facing all-round criticism of attempting to deceive them. He is raining fresh promises and sops on them, but will members of BC communities forget the humiliation heaped on them? Does he think that by spending a few hundred crores on them in the next couple of months, he can erase from their memory the insults they were subjected to? It is highly doubtful whether BC groups who feel humiliated by Chandrababu Naidu would ever back him in the months to come.
