How Can I Ever Repay Their Debt Of Kindness? 

Shobhanapuram Cross, Krishna District: Guduru Bhagyamma and Nagabhushanam, a grand old couple from Velvadam, on the cusp of a hundred years, met me and blessed me on my Padayatra this morning. “You have undertaken this arduous task in scorching summer heat. Your effort reminds us of your father’s great Padayatra. We hope and pray that you are blessed with success ” they said, as they wiped the tears from their moist eyes.Their blessings mean a lot to me. They came with great difficulty, leaning on their grandson for support, barely able to see.

Lakshmi Prasanna of Ganapavaram asked me to bless her. She was getting married next day, and came to seek my blessings, she told me. Nandini of Patanaguluru met me carrying her three-month old infant, who was suffering from a heart ailment. “Anna, I had a neurological condition in the past. At that time I met Sharmilakka, who helped me. Now, I hope that you would help my child get better and recover from this heart problem.”

Read: Praja Sankalpa Yatra Touches 1800 Kms

An old woman from Velvadam offered a few grapes to me and said “I don’t know if you have eaten anything today. Please eat these fruits. “I was deeply touched by her genuine gesture of warmth and concern. Venkateswaramma of Chennuru in Telangana told me, “I walked along with your father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy on his Padayatra. I walked alongside carrying my infant child with me. I walked with your sister on her Padayatra and now I came to join you. Your father ensured that farmers were taken care of during his rule.“ She said that she was certain that better days would come and Rajanna Rajyam would be ushered in soon. How can I ever hope to repay the debt of such kindness and genuine affection!

Employees of 104 services who met me today lamented about the sorry state of affairs under TDP rule. They said that many of the vehicles were in a poor condition and that commercialisation of the services hit the operations badly. There were very few that were fit to run. People’s lives were getting jeopardised, they said. Profit was the driving force behind these essential services, they lamented, thanks to Chandrababu’s privatisation. They narrated a shocking incident to me. Two of their colleagues, including a lady in an advanced stage of pregnancy, died in an accident last week, caused by failure of brakes of the ambulance! They were incensed with Chandrababu Naidu blaming him directly for the accident and the pathetic state of affairs with regard to 104 services. They resolved to launch a statewide agitation seeking redressal of their grievances. The insensitivity and apathy of this Telugu Desam is such that a number of agitations and protests have failed to move Chandrababu Naidu. The ruling impulse which drove this leadership was greed and profit in every possible aspect of governance.

With great warmth and affection, I greeted our YSRCP members of Parliament, who gave up their Lok Sabha seats demanding special category status to the state and went on an indefinite fast in the national capital.

I have a question for the chief minister— health will top on the priority list of our government and its welfare governance. It is one of the essential rights of all citizens. We will strengthen 104, 108 services. These words are taken from the TDP manifesto at the time of 2014 elections. Forget strengthening 108 and 104 services, your government has put a question mark on them! Is it fair on your part to abandon the employees of the services? Is it just to water down these essential services? Are you unconcerned about 104 and 108 only because in popular mind, they are deeply associated with my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy? Is it fair to sacrifice the interests of the masses only because of your own hatred and prejudices?