Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 49: Chandrababu Ignoring Weavers’ Plight

Chinnatippasamudram, Chittoor district: My day began at 8 AM with Vedic pundits showering benedictions on me with sacred mantras. Then the Christian and Muslims offered special prayers. I prayed to God to give me the necessary drive, energy and strength to stand by the people at all times. Then I walked into a sea of waiting people, who wished me the very best in all my endeavours in the New Year. It was as though the Year 2018 was welcoming. The first day of the New Year began with meeting the farmers, who have been suffering at the hands of Chandrababu Naidu and his false loan waiver promises.

Degala Venkata Reddy of Paradesipalli told me that he secured a loan of Rs 50000 and his father Rs 43000 in 2013. But they have been denied the loan-waiver benefit as the officials claim that theirs is not a farm loan. The bank concerned and the agriculture officials have certified their loan under the farm loan category. The details are available online. Farmers Empowerment Committee and the other officials refuse to see reason and do not treat them as farm loans despite clear evidence. It’s been proved long ago that loan waiver is an eye-wash. Time and again they have been denied even this pittance on some pretext or the other.

A few moments later, I entered the Madanapalli Assembly constituency. People turned out in thousands to welcome me and greet me on the New Year. The yatra became extremely slow due to the surging crowd and their effusive love and affection. I decided to skip my mid-day break so I could spend more time with people. Every single person is saddled with some problem or the other while leading a life of abject poverty and have no one to turn to. They have reposed tremendous trust and faith in me and are walking with me in this yatra. I realize that any amount of service would be inadequate in the face of their adversity and yet I am determined to do the most I can. With these thoughts I forged ahead.

Along the way, autorikckshaw driver Alam Noor Basha met me. He said that the late Dr YSR had given them houses. Out of gratitude, they named their colony YS Jagan Colony. That was reason enough to deny them even basic amenities. Isn’t it gross injustice to deny amenities just because the colony is named after me? During my father’s time, he never discriminated against anyone just because a colony was named after either NTR or Chandrababu. Isn’t this bias in governance shameful and despicable?

At Chinnatippa Samudram, I interacted with the handloom weavers. Neglected by the government of the day and short-changed by its false promises, their plight is truly heart-rending. I was deeply pained as I listened to the stories of their woes. Handloom has a great history and before the advent of the mills, Indians depended on hand-spun cloth to cover themselves. I feel strongly about protecting the craft and its tradition.

Finally, a poser to the Chief Minister! You are indifferent and insensitive towards people’s issues. A slew of promises made by you to the weavers before elections remain unfulfilled. The words credibility and trust don’t figure in your scheme of things. How can you look a weaver in the eye and answer his questions with any measure of sincerity?