‘Press meet petti gatti ga thittandi’, Jagan To Officers

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the collectors to rebuke the opposition parties and the media that supports them if they are wrong in picturizing the ruling party or its policies. At the same time, he said that the YCP government would take the criticism by the opposition parties in a positive way and try to amend itself, if there is something really wrong.

If there is nothing wrong but the opposition parties are trying to distort the facts and create a false image of the YCP government, then such attempts should be thwarted. Else, it might send a wrong message to the people, he said.

In such a case, he asked the collectors to hold press meets and hit back at the opposition parties and the media that supports them.

Following these directives from the CM, political observers wondered how could the collectors hit back at the opposition parties. The collectors are IAS officers and government servants. How can they criticize the political parties, they wondered.

YCP might be in power for the next couple of years but later, there is no guarantee that the same party would be in power for the next two decades. In such a case, if the collectors publicly criticize a party, how can they work in the government if that party comes to power? The CM should try to understand the problems the government officials would face if their party is out of power, reminded a TDP leader.

Jagan’s directions to the collectors also makes it clear that he is also encouraging the MLAs and ministers of his party to badmouth the TDP. The abusive words and indecent language used by the YCP leaders is condemnable and this practice should end, said another senior leader of the TDP.