What's in store for the Telugus?

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: Every Telugu, residing not just in Andhra Pradesh but in any other part of the globe, is waiting with bated breath for the dusk of December 31. Not to bid adieu to Year 2010 or welcome 2011, but to know whether their state will remain Andhra Pradesh or get divided into Telangana and Andhra or anything else. December 31 is the “D-day” when the five-member Justice Srikrishna Committee, appointed by the Government of India on February 3 this year for consultations on the situation in Andhra Pradesh, submits its report after an extensive field work in the wake of the demand for and against the bifurcation of the state. Though the recommendations of the Committee are unlikely to be publicised the same day, every citizen of this state has come to see it as a landmark day that defines their future.

The Committee was appointed in the backdrop of the agitation for and against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, when the demand for creation of a separate Telangana state reached a feverish pitch in late 2009. The Justice Srikrishna Committee was asked to examine, among other things, the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh; to review the developments in the state since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of the different regions of the state; to identify the key issues that must be addressed by consulting all sections of the society, especially the political parties and seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of the people. It was also asked to identify the “optimal solutions” for this purpose and recommend a plan of action and a road map.

The last months of year 2009 saw turbulence caused primarily by separatists seeking Telangana state while early 2010 witnessed a spontaneous movement by people of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions opposing the state’s division. This led to political disorder and public unrest in the state after the Congress’ flip-flop on “initiating the process for creation of Telangana.” Order was restored in the state to an extent only after the Srikrishna Committee was appointed to look into the statehood demand, a move seen as the Congress’ desperate gambit to undo the damage caused by its mishandling of the whole issue.

Though initially every political party reacted with scepticism to the Committee’s constitution, the common people welcomed it with the hope that it will come out with an everlasting solution to the contentious statehood issue. All political parties, barring the Bharatiya Janata Party, subsequently presented their case, for and against the division of the state, before the Committee while all other stakeholders too submitted their views on the issue. The Committee members – eminent and widely-respected in varied fields – toured almost every part of Andhra Pradesh in the last ten months, collected tonnes of data from different sources, interacted with people at the grassroots level and drafted a two-volume report. In doing so, they kept their promise of completing their task “within the set deadline.” Now, Justice Srikrishna and his four colleagues are about to submit the report to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi.

While holding a mirror to the past and the present of Andhra Pradesh since its formation on November 1, 1956, the Srikrishna Committee report should hold the beacon for its future as well.

Kiran Kumar Reddy left with egg on his face

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s sarcastic remarks against Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu seem to be precipitating the crisis arising out of the latter’s indefinite hunger-strike that was into its sixth day today. At a time when the former Chief Minister’s health condition turned “alarming,” Kiran Kumar’s pun-laced remarks that “people have taken note of your hunger-strike” have only angered the Telugu Desam Party rank and file further and increased the determination of Chandrababu to take his struggle to its “logical conclusion.” The Chief Minister, while addressing a public meeting at Jadcherla in Mahbubnagar district, remarked: “Your attempt to be recognized as the ‘messiah of farmers’ has succeeded. People have taken note of your fast, so you can now call it off.” This left the TDP red-faced. “It is highly unbecoming of the Chief Minister to talk like that at his critical hour. It only shows how indifferent and negligent is he to the issue,” TDP politburo member and former Union minister Ummareddy Venkateswarlu said. “Our leader Chandrababu is determined to continue his indefinite hunger-strike and take it to the logical conclusion,” Ummareddy said. Two days ago, the Chief Minister remarked in New Delhi that the indefinite hunger-strike was Chandrababu’s “own headache.” Political observers here say that such remarks by Kiran Kumar emanated from his bitter personal animosity towards Chandrababu. Even some of his Cabinet colleagues admitted that Kiran’s comments showed him in poor light and compounded the current situation. “He (Kiran) should be diplomatic enough at least while making such remarks in the public. He can’t be so blunt. Otherwise, it exposes the personal grudge he holds against Chandrababu,” a senior minister pointed out. In fact, the Chief Minister spoke in a curt manner on resolving the indefinite fast issue when CPI state secretary K Narayana met and sought his intervention. “We have already discussed the issue in the Assembly and announced a relief package. We can’t do anything more on this,” Narayana quoted Kiran as telling him. Even Praja Rajyam Party president K Chiranjeevi’s phone call to the Chief Minister for making the TDP chief end his fast did not yield any response from Kiran.

Jagan's actual target is Rahul Gandhi

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: His late father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s dream
was to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister of India in 2014 but Y S
Jaganmohan Reddy’s aim now is to ensure that the All India Congress
Committee general secretary doesn’t stand that chance.
Dashing Rahul Gandhi’s Prime Ministerial dreams appears to be the
larger agenda behind Jagan’s move to launch a political party next
month, his close followers say.
“Becoming Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is now secondary for Jagan.
His prime target is Rahul Gandhi. The objective is to win considerable
number of Lok Sabha seats in the state and dent the Congress’
aspirations of making Rahul the Prime Minister,” a close confidante of
Jagan said.
In this era of coalition governments, Jagan understands the numbers
game well and is accordingly planning his moves.
Jagan hopes to rally the anti-Congress parties at the national level
and emerge as a potent force so as to dictate terms to the party that
left him “humiliated.”
If claims of his key aides and strategists are to be believed, Jagan
has already “made some friends” notably in Bihar through his “generous
contributions” during the recent Assembly elections in the state. The
ex-Congress MP already has good friends in the “Reddy brothers” (Gali
Janardhan and Karunakar) of Karnataka through whom he hopes to enlarge
his circle in the Bharatiya Janata Party as well.
In Andhra Pradesh, Jagan is reportedly in consultations with some key
leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti for possible support in the
region in future by assuring the separatist leaders that he would
indeed support a separate Telangana state.
This is seen as a tacit move by Jagan to wean the TRS away from the
Congress in any eventuality.
“We are still working on various strategies. We shall start putting
them in practice after the party is formally launched probably around
Sankranti festival,” a close confidante of Jagan said.

Rebellion against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: The allocation of portfolios to the newly-sworn-in ministers triggered a major rebellion against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy around midnight barely hours after he constituted his Council of Ministers.

It is turning out to be a Reddy versus backward classes battle which may plunge the week-old new government into a deep crisis even as two ministers have already sent in their resignations to the Chief Minister.

The ministers who have been left seething after the allocation of portfolios are now getting ready for a showdown with the Chief Minister at the first formal meeting of the new Cabinet.

“It (Cabinet) is not your private limited company. Do you want the Congress party to survive in Andhra Pradesh or get reduced to its 1994 status (when it won only 27 seats and could not even become the main opposition party),” a senior minister reportedly asked the Chief Minister, expressing serious displeasure over the allocation of portfolios.

The main grouse was that all the plum portfolios (revenue-earning) were allocated to ministers belonging to the Reddy community while those from the backward classes were given insignificant (non-revenue generating) portfolios.

While Reddys got as many as 14 berths in the new Cabinet, the BCs were given just about 10. When it came to allocation of portfolios, prime ones like Finance, agriculture, major irrigation, health, municipal administration and panchayat raj were given to Reddys much to the chagrin of the BC ministers.

Leading the list of dissenters were Botsa Satyanarayana, Dharmana Prasada Rao, Vatti Vasantha Kumar, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Danam Nagender who got ready to quit their posts. Of course, a Reddy minister, Komatireddi Venkat Reddy, too has joined hands with the BC ministers, sulking over the allocation of Infrastructure and Investments portfolio.

Vatti Vasantha Kumar, who has been shifted from Rural Development to Tourism Department in the new government, was the first to send in his resignation to the Chief Minister minutes after the portfolios were allocated late in the night. In fact, Vatti also resigned from his MLA post as well.

Following in Vatti’s steps, Komatireddi Venkat Reddy too has forwarded his resignation to Kiran Kumar Reddy. Komatireddi has been given the Infrastructure and Investments Department in the new government. He was minister for Information Technology and Communications Department in the previous government.

Sensing trouble, a worried Chief Minister sent his new Finance Minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy to placate Vatti, at whose residence more than 10 ministers had gathered for a strategic meeting around midnight. However, Vatti remained firm on his resignation.

The Chief Minister reportedly conveyed through Aanam that the portfolios issue could be discussed at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday but the sulking ministers were in no mood to relent.

The Chief Minister’s reported contention that some of the senior ministers were given “less important” portfolios only because they were facing allegations of corruption.

“In that case why were such persons taken into the Cabinet in the first place,” a disgruntled minister fumed.

The Chief Minister’s emissary did not have an answer for this and had to make a hasty retreat, informed sources said.

Was Jagan caught between his uncles?

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who quit the Congress party as well as his Lok Sabha seat, was in fact caught between his two uncles – one from his late father’s side and the other from his mother’s. The alleged rift within the family was threatening to spill onto the streets when Jagan realised he had to find a quick escape route to safeguard the “family prestige.” As his uncle (father’s younger brother) Y S Vivekananda Reddy left for New Delhi reportedly to seek a berth in the Kiran Kumar Reddy government, Jagan seized the opportunity to mount an attack on the Congress high command and cry foul. He saw a “conspiracy being hatched to vertically split the family.” “Is it fair to lure my uncle Y S Vivekanada Reddy to Delhi, thereby paving way for fissures in my family,” he angrily questioned AICC president Sonia Gandhi in an open letter. The fact, however, was something else. For a few months now, Jagan was reportedly not on good terms with Vivekananda. On his part Vivekananda, a Member of the Legislative Council, too was unhappy with Jagan’s ways. “Vivekananda apparently did not like the way in which Jagan was totally being influenced by his other uncle Y V Subba Reddy (Rajasekhara Reddy’s co-brother). Subba Reddy has become Jagan’s karta, karma, kriya (be all and do all) much to Viveka’s discomfiture,” a source close to Jagan’s family said. Vivekananda is known to be a “humble, mild-mannered” man and is highly revered across Kadapa. In fact, he is held in high esteem than his elder brother (late) Rajasekhara Reddy in their hometown Pulivendula from where Vivekananda was elected to the state Assembly twice. “Jagan’s fear is that he stands no chance against his uncle any day in their home turf Pulivendula or Kadapa. Such is the stature of Vivekananda,” the source noted. On the other hand, Subba Reddy was never in public life and looked after his own business as well as YSR’s. “Subba Reddy is now Jagan’s key strategist. It is he who is driving the rebel leader,” the source pointed out. The fissures within the family were thus obvious, making Vivekananda to tread a different path.