A game of one-upmanship over Telangana

Desaraju Surya
HYDERABAD: It was a clear game of one-upmanship that disturbed peace in Andhra Pradesh once again.
Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao, some Congress leaders hailing from Telangana region and also a few leaders of Telugu Desam Party were all players in this murky game.
The game began after Jagan announced his programme early this month to tour Warangal district as part of the “Odarpu Yatra” to condole the families whose members allegedly died either of heartbreak or committed suicide following the tragic death of his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in September last.
Jagan had already toured West Godavari and Khammam districts last month on a similar condolence trip and evoked good response from people. In fact, Khammam district is also part of Telangana region but Jagan did not face any opposition to his tour with only some murmurs of protest raised by the pro-Telangana groups.
Buoyed by this, the young MP announced his plan to tour Warangal district, which is the hotbed of separate Telangana agitation.
Fearing that the success of Jagan’s yatra could prove that the separate statehood demand is on the wane, Chandrasekhar Rao raised objection to it saying they would not allow a person who openly supported a unified Andhra Pradesh to tour Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh, particularly Telangana, remained peaceful since March this year after the violence that erupted in December over the separate statehood issue.
Separatist elements like KCR and Kodandaram – who are allegedly minting money in the name of the separate statehood “movement” – did not shun their inflammatory talk but people remained restrained.
Interestingly, leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema said they would roll out a red-carpet for Chandrasekhar Rao if he visited their regions. “He is most welcome to not only visit any place in Andhra or Rayalaseema but also speak on his demand for a separate Telangana state. He is very much entitled to do this,” leaders from these regions said as the TRS chief planned to Vijayawada on the invitation of Jai Andhra Samiti.
However, other pro-Telangana groups vowed to block Jagan’s tour at any cost even as some Congress leaders from the region joined chorus.
Beginning with Rajya Sabha and Congress Central Working Committee member K Keshava Rao, 11 party MPs from Telangana lobbied with the ‘high command’ to get Jagan cancel his Odarpu Yatra.
The Kadapa MP, however, said his tour had nothing to do with the party and it was “purely personal.” “It is my duty to wipe the tears of the families which lost their kin following the death of my father. There is no politics involved in it,” Jagan asserted.
He pointed out that he never made any political remarks during his tour of Khammam district that was also part of Telangana.
Amidst this, Telugu Desam Party senior legislator from Warangal district E Dayakar Rao announced that they would not let Jagan land his foot in Warangal since his father YSR had done a lot of injustice to the district. “How can we allow him to tour the region when his father, as Chief Minister, did a lot of injustice to us on various issues? Moreover, why was not Jagan consoling the families whose kin died for the sake of a separate Telangana state,” Dayakar Rao questioned.
Soon, his party colleagues from Telangana region supported him even as TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu maintained that in a democracy every individual has a right to visit any place of his choice.
The controversy over Jagan’s tour notwithstanding, Chief Minister K Rosaiah repeatedly maintained that Jagan’s tour was “his personal affair” but the government would take adequate steps to maintain peace.
However, the Odarpu Yatra ended in an anti-climax on May 28 as Jagan was forced to abandon his plans after violence broke out in Mahbubabad, the yatra's starting point.