Chandrababu’s Criticism Of YS Jagan’s Praja Sankalpa Yatra Stems From His Nervousness

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

The Praja Sankalpa Yatra of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is treading the people's path and his agenda clearly is people's agenda. During his interactions as part of the yatra, he is identifying new issues and is making promises accordingly. For instance, free supply of 200 units of power, addressing grievances through village secretariat and 45 years as pensionable age are some of these assurances.

It is the duty and the responsibility of a political leader to identify new problems and provide solutions to them. But the ruling TDP is finding fault with YS Jagan's approach. Already ministers Prattipati Pulla Rao and Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy are criticising these assurances. As for Chandrababu Naidu, he is reported to have told the TDP machinery to go on an overdrive to claim that the yatra is a failure and that the people are not interested in it.

Chandrababu has a unique quality. He has the ability to make comments against his political rivals with scant regard to facts. He makes his party leaders continue to peddle these falsehoods. But, at the same time, he tries to give an impression that he is beyond all this mud-slinging. Over the years, he has turned this into an effective strategy and a perfect political art.

Even a casual glance at the kind of assurances Chandrababu gave during his padayatra is bound to shock people. He said he would waive all farm loans and even gold loans. This had shocked people. Though a large section of the people realised that Chandrababu's apparatus was churning falsehoods, he still managed to win the elections. He said he would give either jobs or unemployment pension to the jobless youth. What became of this promise is everyone's knowledge. Ditto with Kapu reservation. When asked now, he gives a slew of escapist explanations. He manages to make his own Kapu leaders to slam Kapu movement leaders for good effect.

The question is - Is YS Jagan doing the same? Definitely NOT. In fact, many political observers believe that YS Jagan would have won had he too made a promise on the waiver of farm loans. He chose not to do so as he felt it was not right to promise something that he could not do. In fact, during the 1996 elections, Chandrababu had promised Rs 2-a-kg rice and won the elections. The moment he won at the hustings, the price of subsidy rice was hiked to Rs 5.50. He promised a stricter implementation of prohibition before the elections and watered it down in every conceivable way after the polls. He termed the BJP as a mosque-destroyer and within a fortnight, shamelessly joined the very same BJP to fight elections. Chandrababu is known to swim with the tide, while YS Jagan believes in swimming against the tide, if he feels he is right. He has braved a lot of problems for taking on Sonia Gandhi. Both Chandrababu and YS Jagan are poles apart--in their approach and attitude. As YSR's son, YS Jagan believes in standing by his word, while Chandrababu does not believe in being steadfast.

Having said that, one must say that there are divergent opinions about pension at the age of 45 years. YS Jagan needs to give more clarity on this. It is clear that the TDP in general and Chandrababu in particular are resorting to baseless criticism of YS Jagan as they are unnerved by the massive response to the Praja Sankalpa Yatra. YS Jagan should not give credence to this criticism and must forge ahead with his Padayatra and turn the people's agenda into his party's agenda.