Rahul Gandhi AP Visit: A Political Flop Show  

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

In an unusual turn of events, Congress President Rahul Gandhi toured Andhra Pradesh and visited the residences of two former Chief Ministers earlier this week. Speaking on the occasion of his visit, he said that a person of the stature of Damodaram Sanjeevaiah should be made AP Chief Minister. Although it is pleasing to the ears, the Congress President seemed like he was not aware of the history of the State. In 1962, the Congress was elected to power under the leadership of Sanjeevaiah, yet, he was not given the Chief Ministerial post. This is a result of an assumption that the public are unaware of the history or it might also be true that Rahul was reading out a script written by someone else.

The Congress supremo had promised to waive farm loans. It would have been better if he had shed some light on the Congress's plans on waiving loans across States. What would be the burden on the economy if Rs 2 lakh crore loans would be waived across all States? If Rahul had spoken about these, he would have gained the trust of people of Andhra Pradesh, who have already been deceived by CM Chandrababu Naidu. After making tall promises of waiving Rs 89,000 crore loans, Chandrababu cheated the farmers, women and Self Help Groups. In a natural consequence, a suspicion would arise in the minds of the people on Rahul Gandhi's claims.

During Rahul's visit to AP, he had also spoken about the Special Category Status to the State. Firstly, the Congress has to clarify on two aspects -- whether the Congress is confident of forming government in AP & will Rahul Gandhi be announced as the Congress's PM candidate. The latter question gained prominence after the Congress recently announced that it would back anyone's PM candidature if they unite against defeating PM Modi in 2019. If a non-BJP and non-Congress leader would be elected as PM, does the Congress assure that its promise of according SCS to AP would still stand? What if people of AP elect Congress to power and a non-Congress government would form government at the Centre? Due to these ramifications, the public is unwilling to trust the words of Chandrababu and Rahul Gandhi.

The people of AP would be immensely benefited if YSRCP, which is equidistant from the Congress and the BJP, is elected to power. The YSRCP would then be able to offer its support to those parties which would be able to accord SCS to the State.

Unsurprisingly, Rahul did not utter a word against either Telugu Desam Party (TDP) or CM Chandrababu Naidu in his speech. In 2017, when Rahul led a protest in demand for the SCS in Guntur, the TDP leaders opposed the Congress meeting. Chandrababu went on to call on the people of AP to permanently boycott the Congress in the State. "What made Rahul Gandhi visit the State after the Congress did injustice with the State's bifurcation?" Chandrababu asked.

It may be inferred from his own statements that Chandrababu has acted against the interests of the State by facilitating Rahul's visit. Although he did not speak about the TDP-Congress alliance, the Congress leader did speak against the ruling party. Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders KVP Ramachandra Rao and C Ramachandraiah are being highly vocal against the TDP's corrupt practices.

Rahul's attempts to revive the Congress in AP seem to be failing since the bifurcation blues are still fresh in public memory. The TDP-Congress alliance has only worsened the party's image in the State, further proving that it's future in the State is bleak. The Congress's only motive is to aim at making false allegations against YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. But, latest surveys suggest that it would be impossible to stop the strong support for the YSRCP.

Before making attempts to revive the Congress party in the State, there is a need for Rahul Gandhi to prove himself as a worthy candidate for people to have faith in. He had very rightly said that the BJP had cheated the people of AP by denying them the SCS. At the same time, the Congress also had cheated the State by bifurcating erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Former Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had time and again agreed that the Congress cheated the people of AP.

Hence, the BJP and the Congress betrayed the TDP in two different ways. The three parties are poised to face rejection from the people in the upcoming elections.

Also Read:Rahul Gandhi On 2-Day Visit To Amethi From September 24