Vijaysai Takes On Chandrababu Naidu, Says August 28 Is Chandranna Bloodshed Day

AMARAVATI: YSRCP MP V Vijaysai Reddy launched a Twitter tirade against TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu over the infamous Basheerbagh police firing under the latter’s rule, exactly 20 years ago. In the year 2000 on this day, August 28^th, three protesters were killed while several others sustained grievous injuries in the widely-condemned police firing ordered by the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Remembering the loss of lives and recalling one of the most tumultuous political agitations in the history of erstwhile unified Andhra Pradesh, the Rajya Sabha Member of the YSRCP trained his guns on the man responsible for it. He came up with a tweet to castigate the TDP chief in his own inimitable style. The translation of his Telugu tweet goes like this:

“After completing 25 years as a betrayer and observing ‘Backstabbing Day’ on August 25^th, Babu (Chandrababu Naidu) is celebrating ‘Chandranna Bloodshed Day’ on August 28^th. The mayhem unleashed by Babu (Naidu) at Basheerbagh completes 20 years today. Babu, history is a witness to how cruel and destructive you are.”

విశ్వాస ఘాతకుడిగా 25 ఏళ్లు పూర్తి చేసుకొని ఆగస్ట్25న ''వెన్నుపోటు'' దినోత్సవం జరుపుకున్న బాబు.. ఆగస్ట్28 ''చంద్రన్న రక్తపాత దినోత్సవం'' జరుపుకుంటున్నారు. బషీర్‌బాగ్‌లో బాబు సృస్టించిన మారణహోమం నేటికి 20 ఏళ్లు. నీవు ఎంత క్రూరుడివో, ఎంతటి విధ్వంసకారుడివో చరిత్రే చెబుతుంది బాబు.

— Vijayasai Reddy V (@VSReddy_MP) August 28, 2020

On this day in the year 2000, three agitators lost their lives in the police firing that was ordered by the then oppressive regime of Chandrababu Naidu at Basheerbagh, in the heart of Hyderabad and in the close proximity to the state legislative Assembly. A Chalo Assembly agitation was called by several political parties to protest against the then Chandrababu Naidu government’s decision to hike the electricity tariffs unilaterally as part of ruthless enforcement of power sector reforms that were allegedly governed by the World Bank regulations for privatization.

Despite statewide protests and demands to roll back the power tariffs that were steeply hiked, Chandrababu Naidu, as then CM, refused to pay heed to them. Left Parties spearheaded by CPI, CPM and their affiliated wings were at the forefront of the statewide agitations. The movement reached its climax with the Chalo Assembly call, which was foiled with an iron hand by the then TDP government. It ordered a police hiring on the advancing agitators at the Basheerbagh crossroads which turned into a battleground.