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Monday 28 May, 2012

'TRAITS' OF Y S JAGANMOHAN REDDY


Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: If there is one reason that made Y S Jaganmohan Reddy an immensely popular political leader in Andhra Pradesh right now, it’s his open defiance of Sonia Gandhi.
He remained loyal to her only to the extent that his “self-respect” was not impinged upon.
Once the Congress boss sought to encroach on what he believed was his “personal territory”, Jagan rebelled with such audacity and walked out on Sonia that it catapulted him into instant stardom on the state’s political horizon.
His dramatic rise has been the Congress’ fall in a state that helped the grand old party grab power at the Centre for two consecutive terms since 2004.
In 2004, if Congress rose like a phoenix to capture power in Andhra Pradesh, it was singularly due to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and it was the same man who ensured a second consecutive term in 2009.
The Congress could never deny this, though now it is unabashedly projecting the late YSR as a corrupt leader. Whether YSR was corrupt or not could be debatable.
But this is precisely an other factor that is contributing to Jagan’s political rise – built on his late father’s legacy.
The third factor working in Jagan’s favour is the “credibility crisis” that the principal opposition Telugu Desam Party’s chief N Chandrababu Naidu is stuck in.
The leadership vacuum in the Congress, after YSR’s tragic death, has come as a blessing in disguise for the 39-year-old leader whose clear target is the Chief Minister’s post.
He succeeded in striking a positive chord with common people largely based on the goodwill that his late father earned for himself through a slew of “welfare” programmes.
Jagan merely reminds people of what all his father did for them as Chief Minister and promises to continue the same trend, unlike the current Congress government that had “watered down” each and every scheme “on one pretext or the other.”
People take his word, for they believe Jagan will be as steadfast as his father in implementing what all he promised. 
Of course, there are certain negative attributes to Jagan, those who know him very closely say.
He is seen essentially as a "corporate politician", full of "arrogance of money" and "lust for power."
He is "diametrically opposite" to his father, who had a lot of grace and credibility.
"This guy doesn't have respect or regard for elders, seniors, comrades or friends," is how Jagan is analysed by those who have been with him very closely.
"He is much like his late grandfather Y S Raja Reddy," they add, implying that Jagan too has a "criminal mindset."
These things apart, the biggest stumbling block for Jagan in reaching his goal (CM's chair) could be the Telangana issue. He is certainly a strong force in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions but not in Telangana.
Unless the YSR Congress takes a clear stand on the statehood issue, Jagan may not make inroads in Telangana and that could dampen his prospects.
The Telangana region alone has 119 seats in the 294-member AP Assembly and, thus, Jagan's fortunes ultimately rest on his stand on the statehood demand.

Friday 25 May, 2012

CONGRESS GETS KNOCKED OFF


Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh has been knocked off the high moral ground it was taking on corruption for the past eight years. 
The arrest of state Excise and Prohibition Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, in connection with the disproportionate assets case against Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, has left the Kiran Kumar Reddy government shaken. 
There are jitters in the government as well as the Congress party what with some other ministers facing the prospect of arrest over their alleged wrongdoings in relation to the same case. State Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Major Industries Minister J Geeta Reddy and Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana are also under the CBI scanner in the Jagan case.
The timing of all this couldn’t have been worse for the Congress as it is facing a biggest challenge in the form of by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats on June 12.
Mopidevi, a three-time MLA from Guntur district belonging to fishermen community, earned the dubious distinction of being the first incumbent minister to be arrested in the state on charges of corruption. As he reached the CBI's temporary office for a further round of questioning, Mopidevi remained defiant. "I have done no wrong and there is no question of my resignation from the post," he asserted.
But, after the inevitable happened, Mopidevi promptly sent his resignation letter to the Chief Minister through a friend, which was in turn forwarded to the state Governor for approval.
All these years, the Congress had been maintaining that there was nothing amiss in its rule (under Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, K Rosaiah and now Kiran Kumar) even as opposition parties prepared a dossier on the various corruption scandals that rocked the state since May 2004.
Political expediency -- following the exit of Jagan from the party, the subsequent investigation by the CBI into various dubious deals and the findings of CAG -- forced the government as well as the Congress in recent days to acknowledge that certain illicit acts did happen (when YSR was at the helm).
Right from the Chief Minister to the Pradesh Congress Committee president and other leaders (read ministers), however, have been desperately trying to wash their hands off pleading "we are not responsible for what all happened 'behind the curtains.'"
As battle lines are drawn for by-elections in the state, Kiran Kumar and his Cabinet colleagues virtually started endorsing the opposition allegations that the late Chief Minister YSR was primarily responsible for the unbridled corruption and helped his son Jagan amass "thousands of crores of rupees" through dubious means.
Obviously, the Congress' main target was Jagan and his fledgling YSR Congress that has emerged as the biggest political threat to the ruling party.
But the whole thing seems to be turning a full circle and catching even the Congress leaders in the swirl.