Does Chandrababu Naidu Have Any Moral Right To Protest?

While Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao celebrated the state’s Formation Day in a grand manner in the capital city of Hyderabad, in contrast, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu took to a protest. His protest is nothing but an insult to the people of the state. KCR listed out the achievements of his government, while Chandrababu Naidu used the occasion to criticise YSRCP, Jana Sena and Pawan Kalyan, BJP and PM Modi. Chandrababu Naidu is doing what no other chief minister had ever done. He has turned Andhra Pradesh into a non-descript state without leadership worth talking about.

Men of the stature of Potti Sriramulu and Prakasam Pantulu fought for the creation of Andhra Pradesh. In 1953 October, the state comprised coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions and later, due to the efforts of Bezwada Gopala Reddy, P Sundarayya, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and others, Hyderabad was made the capital of the new state which came into being from November 1, 1956.

Thereafter, protests and agitations for a separate state of Telangana began. There were agitations for a separate Andhra state, as well. When people from the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions settled in Hyderabad in large numbers, the issue of bifurcation of the state arose again. Whether it was a good development or not, is no longer a point of debate or discussion. The only key question is whether the Congress, BJP and TDP were a party to this decision or not.

Didn’t Chandrababu Naidu write letters seeking the bifurcation of the state on more than one occasion? Did we not witness TDP leaders from Telangana fighting for a separate state in parliament and their counterparts from the Andhra region seeking a united State? Chandrababu Naidu put forth his theory of equal treatment and both the regions being his two eyes at this time. He came up with impractical ideas such as the state can remain undivided, if the people of Telangana agree to it. He did not take a clear stand either in favour of bifurcation or keeping the state united.

Chandrababu Naidu succeeded in making people forget about the letters he had written seeking bifurcation of the state, by focusing on criticising the Congress party. After being in alliance with the BJP for four years, he began criticising the ruling party at the Centre. For people to believe that someone like him, who has four decades of political experience, was taken for a ride, is a bit hard to digest.

Also Read: Stop Whining, Chandrababu: IYR Krishna Rao

In all states of the country, people celebrate their respective Formation Days with great enthusiasm and fervour. Chandrababu Naidu is behaving as if people should only mourn for the creation of new state and as if they have nothing to feel happy about. He is behaving in a childish manner and playing with the sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh. Will any citizen of Andhra Pradesh take pride in the way that Chandrababu Naidu has brought down the prestige of the state?

Who is Chandrababu Naidu angry with? What does he want and from whom? There is no clarity on this. His speech on Formation Day was no different than the one at the party’s Mahanadu. His opponents criticise Chandrababu saying that he is resorting to a new kind of deception. There was a time when Andhras had fought for their pride and honour. They led lives of self-assurance and dignity. It is indeed sad to see Chandrababu Naidu demean Andhras by reducing the people of the state to this condition of having to whine constantly. Chandrababu Naidu's diabolical political games will stand in history, creating a record.