Death anniversary: Where is respect for NTR?

TDP founder and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao needs no introduction to the Telugu people. He is revered as Anna garu by the Telugus. The TDP cadre has decided to observe NTR’s death anniversary by organizing programmes in a big manner today. The party had decided to celebrate NTR’s centenary throughout this year and being his death anniversary today, the party leaders planned several programmes.

However, they complained that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has begun thwarting the programmes they had planned to mark the occasion.

With the YCP government clamping prohibitory orders, political atmosphere in Gudivada and Mailavaram in united Krishna district has heated up. Similarly, Sec. 144 was imposed since Tuesday night in Macharla, Guntur district. In Kuppam, cops enforced Police Act 30 within a short notice since Tuesday night. A similar situation was witnessed in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. Police have been cautioning the people not to gather at any public place and asking them to respect the rule of law.

These acts led to doubts over organizing several programmes marking NTR’s death anniversary. At a few places, the police had taken precautions to ensure that the TDP leaders do not come out into the open. Notices were also issued to a few key leaders in the party. The police said that the notices were issued in connection with the GO No. 1. The HC suspended the GO but the officials claimed that the it was valid because the state government approached the Supreme Court.

TDP boss N. Chandrababu Naidu also got ready to take part in the state-level party programmes but without the presence of the party senior leaders, the situation is likely to lead to tense situation. On one hand, the YCP leaders claim that they respect NTR but on the other, their actions are contrary to their words, pointed out a TDP leader.

The YCP government had even removed NTR’s name prefixed to the university of health sciences and named it after former CM and Jagan’s father Dr YSR. Soon after coming to power, the YCP government took up a drive and vandalized the statues of NTR. The ex-CM’s statues were removed and replaced with those of Dr YSR, he reminded.

To this, YCP leaders claimed that it was the YCP government which gave the name of NTR to a part of Krishna district, during the recent delimitation exercise.

Jagan named a district after NTR after giving the name of his father YSR to Kadapa district long ago. As his father’s name had already been prefixed to a district, Jagan named a district after NTR just to pretend that he respects senior politicians but not Chandrababu Naidu as he had ‘backstabbed’ the former, reminded a TDP leader.

In the wake of these incidents, can one believe in the YCP’s claim that it respects NTR and hates TDP boss N. Chandrababu Naidu because he betrayed NTR?