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The Storm Path

AP agog as YSR’s son takes the rebel road

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The Storm Path
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It’s now 10 months since former Andhra Pradesh  CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash. But the political upheaval caused by his sudden demise continues to dog the Congress government in the state. Earlier, it was the Telangana movement that gave Chief Minister K. Rosaiah sleepless nights; now, it is YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy, the MP from Kadapa, and his odarpu (consolation) yatra.

This tour, undertaken by Jagan to console bereaved families whose members apparently died of “shock” on hearing of YSR’s death, has caused turmoil in the state unit of the party. Rosaiah has warned his MLAs and ministers against joining Jagan because party president Sonia Gandhi hasn’t given the yatra the thumbs-up. But Jagan is unfazed. Since he kickstarted the second leg of the yatra on July 8 from Srikakulam district, the part high command has been watching with growing unease as Jagan, on the road for some 18 hours a day, draws huge crowds in the Srikakulam and East Godavari districts.

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Jagan imitates his father’s easy manner. Eating curd-rice with families he meets on the way, crying with the bereaved families, cradling babies, getting rakhis tied, shaking hands with eager youths and signing autographs—Jagan is doing it all. He also unveiled several statues of YSR along the way.

But it is his politically charged statements that have made Rosaiah’s camp sit up. “Politics in the state has hit rock-bottom,” Jagan declared at one meeting in Srikakulam. At another, he said, “Regardless of whether any leader accompanies me or not, I know the people are with me and will take me ahead.” Two days on, Jagan upped the ante. “Why are MLAs and ministers being prevented from joining my yatra? Is it wrong to love Rajasekhara Reddy?” he asked. Rosaiah had to respond. “Jagan is ill-advised,” he said. “Why is he in such a hurry to become CM? His time will come.”

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Senior leaders have been quick to defend Rosaiah. V. Hanumantha Rao, a Rajya Sabha member, has asked if the bereavements Jagan is seeking to console had any link at all with the death of YSR. He says Jagan must follow Sonia’s diktat. Another party leader, Palvai Goverdhan Reddy, has demanded an inquiry into Jagan’s assets. And Nizamabad MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud asks,  “Why do so many convoys need to follow him if it’s a personal yatra?” He thinks Jagan’s intentions are suspect.

Meanwhile, the Rosaiah camp has been handing out “exclusives” indicting Jagan. A story has surfaced that the YSR government had granted a mining lease on a plot of 1.45 lakh acres to his son-in-law Anil Kumar’s company, Rakshana Steel. MLAs and ministers are being pressurised to issue statements about their unstinting support for Rosaiah.

Other parties are also sceptical of Jagan’s intentions. TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that crowds are being paid to turn up. Srikakulam MP and TDP parliamentary party leader K. Yerrannaidu has asked Jagan to “please explain what odarpu yatra means”. “Does it mean spending an hour or two with the families and 18 hours on the roads waving out to crowds?”

In some ways, Jagan is following his father’s rebellious path. In the 1990s, when YSR was denied chief ministership, his followers rained chappals at then CM K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy and prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao during a public meeting in Kadapa. The 37-year-old Jagan may not have reached the chappal stage yet but his impatience is growing. The 78-year-old Rosaiah, on the other hand, is digging in his heels.

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