Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 74: 1000 KM Spurred On By People’s Love, Time And Distance Don’t Matter  

30 Jan, 2018 09:51 IST|Sakshi
AP Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

Saidapuram, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district: I commenced my Padayatra from Idupulapaya on November 6 2017, and have already crossed the 1000 KM milestone! When I look back, it doesn’t seem to me as if I have covered as many as a thousand long kilometres. The reason for this is that when you walk with your own, when people stand by you and walk with you, when they shower you with their love and affection every step of the way, when they cheer you on and when they want you to be with them, you feel energised and revitalised every single step. In their love, you discover hidden reserves of strength and energy. This is what the unconditional and boundless affection of people can do and this is how I completed this milestone walking along with thousands of people who chose to be by my side.

Time and distance are of no consequence when people are with you and when they shower their love and affection on you. It was not just their love and affection which I experienced—I also saw their sorrows and tears from close quarters. The poorest of the poor opened up to me and poured out their sorrows to me. The smiles of children, blessings of the elderly, the love of my brothers and sisters—all these elements strengthened my resolve and added to my sense of responsibility. One thing was evident—people everywhere wanted a return of my father’s rule—Rajanna Rajyam.

Andhra Pradesh should be rid of this selfish, despotic regime of Chandrababu Naidu which is wreaking havoc on the lives of people. The common masses everywhere expressed this view in unison. Vedic pundits blessed me and gave me Prasadam on crossing the milestone of 1000 kms. They blessed me saying that our party should bring prosperity to the state and that Andhra Pradesh should make rapid strides in every sphere of development. My commitment to serve the poor, to live and die for the masses got strengthened even further. My walkathon draws inspiration from this thought more than anything else.

The poverty of her parents and the life of a child which turned into an unending saga of misery, shook me to the core. In the Harijanwada of Chennuru, 12-year-old Sunita was married off to a 45-year-old man, who took her on as his second wife. At the time of their marriage he was already very sick, and one of his legs had to be amputated. Three years into their marriage he was struck with paralysis and died recently. To make matters worse, her son was born with a congenital disability for which she had to get surgery done. If she had any desire to live, it was only for him, she said. It’s sad to see a 22-year-old woman go through the extent of suffering she was experiencing at such a young age.

Vijayalakshmi came to me with her sorrowful experience. Her husband abandoned her because she did not bear him a male child! She had become a single parent and was driven by a fervent desire to educate her child. How can we discriminate against the girl child in this manner? We seem to forget the multiple roles women play in our lives—daughters, mothers, sisters and wives! What wickedness is this on the part of the father? It is shameful that these social evils plague our society. These two incidents made me wonder as to which age we seem to be living in.

To mark the milestone of having crossed 1000 kms on my Padayatra, a special stupa (column) was erected in Saidapuram which I declared open amidst a sea of humanity. I recollected what my mother had said—“how many kilometres you walk is not important, what is more important is how many people you met, how much faith you inspired and to what extent you touched the lives of the common masses. These factors are far more important.” Finally, I have a question for the chief minister—people everywhere complain about the limitations of the Arogyasri scheme. They lament that many diseases and conditions are not covered by Arogyasri and in the case of many others, the healthcare facilities in our state are inadequate. The scheme has not been extended to neighbouring states where much superior healthcare facilities are available. Where does the common citizen go if he requires medical treatment? Is his life of no consequence at all?

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