YS Jagan Poses Six Questions To Chandrababu

YSR Congress Party Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy shot off six questions to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on behalf of the people of the state. He dared Chandrababu to answer them if he had the sincerity and moral courage to do so.

1) What did you do during those critical seven months?

The state was bifurcated on March 2, 2014. The Union Cabinet had passed a resolution in May, 2014, according Special Category Status to the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh and issued orders to that effect to the Planning Commission. You assumed office as CM in June 2014. Meanwhile, the file continued to gather dust in the Planning Commission till December 2014. What did you do these seven months? Why did you not exert pressure seeking immediate action on SCS? Doesn’t your inaction amount to cheating the people of Andhra Pradesh?

2) Why did you not oppose the special package announced by Finance Minister, Jaitley?

On September 8, 2016, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely had announced a package in lieu of the special status. The package as you are doubtless aware, was a far cry from SCS, and a lame substitute. The TDP not merely remained mum, but on the contrary, welcomed it. Jaitley made an identical announcement recently. This time around, you asked your ministers in the Modi cabinet to resign. How would you explain this ambivalence? Why no resignations then? And why no resignations now?

3) Why did you foil my indefinite fast?

Over the last four years, did you not try to foil every protest and agitation that sought special status to Andhra Pradesh? When I sat on a protest fast for eight days, did you not get it disrupted in the wee hours of the day citing the lame reason that Narendra Modi was on a visit to the state. Were you not aware of the fact that you could have cited my fast to exert more pressure on the Centre? When my party cadre staged protests in every nook and cranny of the state, you used every trick in the trade to foil them and disrupt their demonstrations.

4) Why did you not move a No-Confidence Motion against the NDA government, till the YSRCP began mobilizing support for its no-trust vote?

Had the YSRCP not tabled a No-Confidence Motion, would you have tabled it on behalf of your party? On March 15, you had announced that you would back the YSRCP motion if it had sufficient numbers. The very next day, you took a 360-degree turn. Isn’t it because my MPs were mobilizing support across all parties? Is it not true that when you realized that they were all backing me, you suddenly changed tack and tabled another no-trust motion? You even had the audacity to claim that the support from various parties was due to your image! Can there be a more Narcissistic claim which is far from reality, than this? On March 15, you claimed that you would support the motion if it had sufficient numbers backing it. The clear implication was that you did not talk to any political party mobilizing support till March 15. On March 16, you had announced that you would table a motion. Even you were evidently not aware on March 15 that there would be a TDP-sponsored motion, as well! If this is not downright shamelessness in public life, then what is?

5) How can you achieve special status without an authentic, sincere struggle?

You had recently called for an all-party meeting on the special status issue. The meeting was farcical to say the least. It was akin to a robber asking people on ways to check robberies. At the all-party meeting, you had opposed protests, abhorred agitations and asked students not to join the demonstrations. You had even said that if the agitation is intensified, the image of the state would take a beating. You asked the people to merely sport black badges and not do anything else. Can one get special status by resorting to such dubious methods and lame strategies?

6) If all the MPs from the state agree on this issue, we can make even Modi and the Centre to see reason. Can’t we?

The YSRCP has already announced that all YSRCP MPs would resign on the last day of the parliament’s session. Is it not true that if you had also asked your MPs to resign, the Centre would be under severe pressure? But for reasons best known to you, you chose not to do it. The principal reason is that you are mortally afraid that the BJP might implicate you in the Cash for Votes scam. Isn't this why you want your MPs in Parliament to defend you. In effect, you had shamelessly bartered the interests of the state to serve your own interests. Is this justified?