The South India Times
(Special Correspondent)
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP ‘supremo’ Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s ‘counter-campaign – ‘idemi karma ra babu mana prabhuthwaniki’, – against his bete noir government YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s ‘gadapa gadapa ku prabhuthwam’,might have created needed hype. But, the tragedies that occurred as a result of ‘stampedes’ claimed as many as 11 lives in two separate incidents – one at Nellore and the other in Guntur. Both incidents took place in less than a week.
Overenthusiastic TDP leaders threw the blame on the ruling YSRCP party headed by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy by accusing its police of failure to prevent such tragedies, which sounds bizarre. Even media allegiance to the TDP also went to town claiming that the unprecedented crowds drawn at TDP leaders’ meetings were a clear indication of the growing dissent among the people against, what they describe as ‘short-sighted’ as they dried up the state coffers.
That resulted in the Jaganmohan Reddy-headed government coming down heavily on his bête noire Naidu and his party, by imposing a blanket ban on holding public meetings on roads across the state. But, unperturbed, the TDP chief tried to go ahead with his third such show at his native Kuppam, which was foiled by the police. Now, the debate is whether such holding public meetings on roads are legally valid.
