We are hearing choicest epithets from the leaders of different political parties now-a-days, against each other, during the electioneering for the 18 Assembly and one Parliament seat going to by-polls on June 12.
President of the Telugu Desam Party, Nara Chandrababu Naidu is going hammer and tongs at both the Congress and the YSR Congress party, saying that Congress leaders are thieves, while YSRC leaders were plunderers. Not to be undone, the Congress and YSRC leaders are dubbing the TDP chief as the real thief and real robber. As a matter of fact, there was nothing new in these allegations, and people are accustomed to hear the allegations against each other for the last several years.
There are some sections, who feel that the people are really in a quandary and are unable to judge, who is really corrupt and who is honest and above corruption and irregularities, as they continue to hear unlimited accusations against each other in many matters as such land allotment to industries and SEZs, mining leases, sand quarrying, granite mining, irrigation projects, housing schemes, investments in media houses, and the like. The list seems to be very large.
There are other sections who point out that the people were not as gullible as the political leaders think, and they are very wise and are fully aware of ‘who is who’ and ‘what is what’— the corruption of Chandrababu Naidu and his associates during the earlier TDP regime, the irregularities and corrupt practices that took place during the earlier YS Rajasekhara Reddy regime, and the scams that are taking place during the present Kiran Kumar Reddy dispensation. As a matter of fact, the political leaders were making themselves a ‘laughing stock’ by indulging in projecting the misdeeds of their opponents, while conveniently ignoring their own past and the faults they have committed during their governance.
The TDP leaders were alleging that corruption reached the peak level during the earlier YSR regime; while the Congress leaders were pointing out that Chandrababu was the real culprit, who was responsible for corruption becoming all-pervasive in the State.
Many of the Congress leaders are of the opinion that the lenient attitude adopted by YSR Government in taking action against the earlier Chandrababu regime in several corruption issues that surfaced then, was the main reason for the TDP chief trumpeting that he was honest and no irregularities took place during his regime. The YSR dispensation that came soon after Babu’s governance following the 2004 elections, had totally failed to pin down Chandrababu on the huge number of Mega scams that took place during his regime, for obvious reasons, and this had emboldened the Chief now to claim that he was above board, while the YSR regime was totally corrupt. These Congress leaders feel that the legal department during YSR’s period had not acted tough to get Chandrababu Naidu booked in the cases, probably at the instance of YSR, who himself had allowed his son Jagan to resort to corrupt practices.
There are also doubts that Chandrababu had been able to persuade the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to desist from ordering CBI probe into the assets acquired by the TDP chief during his tenure as Chief Minister. Now, Chdrababu is making all-out efforts to convince the people of the State that he was above board, while the Congress leaders were thieves and the YSRC leaders as plunderers. How far the people would believe him is anybody’s guess. Already, twice the people had given their verdict against the TDP and its chief Chandrababu Naidu in the 2004 and 2009 general elections. How things shape in the future and how far the people would believe Chandrababu is to be seen.
Now the question is whether the people would forgive Chandrababu’s corrupt practices as the late leader Dr YSR forgiven him or not. One has to wait and see to know the pulse of people against Chandrababu till the completion of present bye-elections. (NSS)