Andhra Pradesh government

AP: Jagan Mohan Reddy Shows He Is Ready to Emerge From His Father’s Shadow

Not only did Jagan’s mother exit the YSR Congress party, but he was elected ‘lifetime president’ of AP’s ruling party. This marks a significant departure.

Vijayawada: Y.S. Vijayalakshmi, popularly known as Vijayamma, resigning as the honorary president of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) has signalled the attempts of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to emerge from the shadow of his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) and emerge as a leader unto himself.

The development, which took place on the first day of the YSRCP’s plenary on Friday, also indicated that the party is confident that it can come back to power in Andhra Pradesh with Jagan’s brand image as the driving force. During the plenary, he was elected ‘lifetime president’ of the party.

Vijayamma’s exit has ensured that Jagan is the only claimant to YSR’s legacy in the party. After all, she was the party’s honorary president since its foundation more than a decade ago. Jagan’s sister Sharmila Reddy, who played a crucial role in the party’s early years, was sidelined and floated her own party, YSR Telangana Party, last year.

After YSR’s tragic demise in a chopper crash in 2009, Jagan nursed the ambition of becoming the chief minister. But the Congress high command did not agree, and launched the YSRCP in March 2011. He was jailed in a disproportionate assets case.

During this period. Sharmila, Vijayamma and Y.V. Subba Reddy (Vijayamma’s brother-in-law) took on the mantle of leading the party.

Sharmila even launched a marathon 3000 km padayatra and campaigned for the party.

After Jagan was released on bail, he revamped the party organisation to reduce the influence of Sharmila’s group. Subba Reddy, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, was denied a ticked in 2019. Subsequently, Jagan gave more responsibilities to Rajya Sabha member V. Vijasai Reddy and Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.

Y.S. Sharmila Reddy launches the YSR Telangana Party in Hyderabad, July 8, 2021. Photo: PTI

Though Vijayamma’s resignation has been presented as voluntary, Jagan is also accused by some of sidelining his mother.

Seeing no scope for her to grow in the YSRCP, Sharmila floated a party to try and capitalise on her father’s legacy in Telangana – apparently against the wishes of her brother. Vijayamma, who was reduced to a figurehead in the YSRCP, nurtured her daughter’s political ambitions. She also justified her resignation from the YSRCP by saying that her daughter needs her more.

G. Valliswar, who served as YSR’s chief public relations officer during the leader’s stint as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, said that Sharmila could have emerged as a parallel power centre in the YSRCP because of her dynamism and leadership abilities. “That is the reason why Jagan deftly kept his sister out,” he told The Wire. Whether it is the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the YSRCP or any other regional party, the emergence of parallel power centres is a threat to the leader at the helm, Valliswar said.

Jagan now supreme in YSRCP

During the party plenary, the YSR Congress Parliamentary Party leader V. Vijayasai Reddy piloted a proposal to anoint Jagan as lifetime president. It was duly ratified. With this, Jagan becomes the supreme leader of the party and will not need to face internal elections.

This is a significant depature from the party’s previous path, when Jagan, his mother and sister remained the party’s star campaigners. And they banked on YSR’s legacy, promising to enact popular policy measures like waiving agricultural loans, free education and subsidising healthcare. The images of Rajasekhara Reddy featured prominently in the party’s campaign material in the 2014 assembly and general elections.

But all such expectations went awry and even Vijayamma failed to win the Lok Sabha election from Visakhapatnam.

The party’s reworked its strategy. In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Jagan’s leadership also found its place alongside the legacy of YSR. ‘Rajanna Rajyam’ or YSR’s rule was the party’s buzzword in 2014, which was replaced by ‘Kavali Jagan, Ravali Jagan‘, meaning ‘We want Jagan, Jagan should come to power’.

Prashant Kishor’s prescription

The YSRCP’s fight in the 2019 election also capitalised on the anti-incumbency sentiment against the N. Chandrababu Naidu government. The people of the state were hugely disappointed by Naidu’s failure to realise the promises that were made when Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated. The TDP, which was a coalition partner of the NDA, also failed in getting special category status for the residual state, which Jagan promised he would oversee.

Jagan, a Christian, was also projected as culturally a Hindu as prescribed by the poll consultant Prashant Kishor, said Raka Sudhakar, an analyst. The party’s failure in the 2014 election was attributed by Kishor’s team to Vijayamma appearing with a Bible in hand in political campaigns, it is said. As a result, she was asked to stay away from electioneering in 2019. Sharmila was also sidelined from party campaigns.

After the YSRCP swept the elections in 2019, YSR’s image took the backseat in publicity material, making way for Jagan. It was Kishor’s suggestion to give the party a makeover, building Jagan as the party’s brand instead of YSR, Raka observed.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with his mother Y.S. Vijayalakshmi during a function in Amravati, Friday, July 8, 2022. Photo: PTI

Setting the tone for the next polls

On the last day of the plenary, there was further evidence of this makeover ahead of the 2024 elections. Reddy began his address by presenting himself as your “Jagan anna (elder brother), Jagan tammudu (younger brother) and Jagan koduku (son)” in an attempt to reach out to people of all ages – a departure from his earlier preference to refer to himself only as Jagan anna.

The tone and tenor of the plenary suggest that the YSRCP is likely to fight the next election on three issues: showcasing the performance of the Jagan government in the last five years, presenting him as pro-poor and projecting his rival Naidu as anti-poor and one who promotes corporate companies.

Jagan in his address said his government gave a boost to government schools, where the children from poor families study through the Nadu-Nedu programme. Chandrababu Naidu, during his tenure, patronised the educational institutes of corporate giants like Narayana and Chaitanya, he claimed.

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also trumpeted his other schemes for marginalised and disadvantaged communities. students studying in government schools, Reddy said his government has also introduced nine schemes – dubbed Navaratnalu – which include financial assitance to farmers, building homes, education in English medium and financial assitance for education.

Explained: Why Jagan Has Created 13 New Districts in Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said that the new districts would make it easier for officials to deliver government schemes, but there are other reasons too.

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday formally notified the formation of 13 new districts in the state, taking the total number to 26. The government initiated the process to carve out the new districts in January this year, with the cabinet approving the proposal on March 30.

What are the new districts called?

The new districts are Manyam, carved out of Vizianagaram; Anakapalli and Alluri Sitarama Raju carved out of Visakhapatnam; Kakinada and Konaseema carved out of East Godavari; Eluru carved out of West Godavari; Palnadu and Bapatla carved out of Guntur; Nandyal carved out of Kurnool; Sri Satya Sai carved out of Anantapur; Sri Balaji carved out of Chittoor; Annamaya carved out of Kadapa; and NT Rama Rao carved out of the Krishna district.

The government said it had received over 17,500 representations, suggestions and objections from across the state on the creation of the new districts and revenue divisions, and additions and deletions of the areas in the new districts.

A government ad notifying the formation of 13 new districts. Photo: By arrangement

Why have the new districts been created?

In a statement on Monday, Jagan said that the new districts would make it easier for officials to deliver government schemes. He said, “People have accepted and appreciated the decentralised form of government as the schemes are directly delivered to their doorstep, and that the same is being extended to the districts now”.

“We have seen the development through decentralised administration in the form of village and ward secretariats. We are now decentralising at the district level as well. From now on, AP is a state with 26 districts. We have at least one parliamentary constituency per district,” Reddy said.

During the poll campaign for the 2019 assembly elections, Jagan had promised that his party would make every Lok Sabha constituency a district if voted to power. While the state has 25 Lok Sabha seats, the Araku constituency will be split between two districts, one of which was created to include majority tribal areas in East Godavari and Visakhapatnam.

Each district will now have six to eight assembly segments, except in the Konaseema district.

Why now?

Though Jagan had made the promise to establish new districts during the 2019 election campaign, the timing of the move is an attempt to curb anti-incumbency sentiments. The YSR Congress party is more than midway through its term and some of its policies – like the decision to establish three capitals instead of one – have proven unpopular. The chief minister is reported to have admitted privately that the party may have to drop nearly half of its MLAs in the next assembly election, which will happen concurrently with the 2024 general elections.

Jagan’s cabinet is also set for a major overhaul, another move seen as a way to combat anti-incumbency. The outgoing ministers would be appointed as coordinators in the districts and the party hopes that their popularity will also boost the party’s chances.

(With PTI inputs)

AP High Court Orders Implementation of Amaravati Masterplan

The judgment deals a blow to the YSR Congress government’s plans to have three capitals.

New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday ordered that the Amaravati Masterplan be implemented and all development activities be continued in the region in a blow to the YSR Congress government’s plans to have three capitals.

With this judgement, the three capitals idea looks uncertain, though the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government has been claiming that it would not give up on it.

A three-member division bench of the high court, headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, also ordered that the government honour the agreement signed with farmers, who parted with their lands for the development of the capital city Amaravati, and take up development activities.

The bench ordered that the government submit an affidavit in six months on the progress of the development works in Amaravati.

The division bench, also comprising Justices M. Satyanarayana Murthy and D.V.S.S. Somayajulu, delivered the judgment on a batch of petitions filed by the farmers opposing the government’s plan to create three new capitals for the state.

In the original petitions, the farmers also opposed the scrapping of the Capital Region Development Authority Act and the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act.

The state government subsequently repealed the two controversial laws but said it would bring them in a new form.

The high court on Thursday said it would continue hearing into the various other related petitions in the matter.

The Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti (Save Amaravti Committee) leaders welcomed the high court judgment and said it was a victory of people and farmers.

Why the Andhra Pradesh Government Banned a 100-Year-Old Play

The government decision came after the Arya Vysya community objected to Chintamani Natakam.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday, January 17 issued orders to ban Chintamani Natakam, a popular play across the state. The play is particularly enjoyed with much fervour in rural areas.

The government decision came after the Arya Vysya community objected to the 100-year-old play, claiming that it had offensive content that targeted their community. The community has been asking for a ban on the play since 2020. Their grouse is about the portrayal of the character of Subbi Setty, a trader from the Vysya community who is subjected to ridicule. He is shown as a comic character who loses all his wealth owing to his vice of visiting a brothel regularly.

Elated by the government’s decision, M. Dwarkanath, Andhra Pradesh Arya-Vysya Mahasabha president who had given a representation to the chief minister’s office seeking a ban on the play nearly four months ago, told TNM, “Our community has been objecting to the play for several years now, but no government paid heed to it earlier. The present government has reviewed the play and taken the right decision.”

Explaining the objections to the play, he said, “The play has hurt our community’s sentiments.” Referring to the Subbi Setty character, he said, “We are shown as people who are dark, short, and speaking a funny language. This could have been acceptable 100 years ago, but not anymore. It is offensive.”

He added, “Some are asking why not ask the artists to remove the Subbi Setty character, make some changes and allow the play to continue… but the entire play is based on Subbi’s character.”

The play, written in 1920 by social reformer Kallakuri Narayana Rao, is about Chintamani, a courtesan, who attains liberation because of her devotion to Krishna.

“Originally, the play was written as a reformative one with a social message in it. But over the years, several adaptations were made to make it more entertaining, particularly after the entry of ‘recording dance’ (erotic entertainment that branched out from folk dancing), the play turned out to be downright vulgar,” said, Shaik John Basheer, PhD scholar and founding member of the Progressive Theatre Group, University of Hyderabad.

“To appeal to the masses during village festivals, theatre groups have included several sexual innuendos and sexual references in the play with crass language, and desecrated the actual intent of the play,” Basheer observed.

However, objecting to the government’s decision, he said, “It is condemnable. Censorship should never be encouraged. In 1876, the British introduced the Dramatic Performances Act, to curtail dissent expressed through art. The present decision should be seen as an extension of that.”

Some have argued that instead of putting a blanket ban on the play, the government should have asked for changes. The Hindu quoting playwright and actor Govada Venkat said, “All plays contain a good message to society. It is not correct to highlight only a few characters in the drama.” He added, “The government has a right to either remove a character or edit objectionable dialogues. But imposing a ban on the historic play is not correct.”

Observing that the decision of the government will not stand the scrutiny of the courts, social scientist Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd urged the affected artists to approach the high court. “This should not be entertained. If you do not like a play or film, do not watch it. If you do not like a book, do not read it. Banning should not become our prime objective.”

Kancha Ilaiah had earlier faced the wrath of the Vysyas, also known as Banias, when they sought a ban on his book Samajika Smugglerlu: Komatollu. The booklet, published in Telugu in 2017, was extracted from a chapter from his book Post-Hindu India (2009). Objecting to the booklet’s release, as it was titled ‘Social Smugglers: Vysyas’, the community members issued death threats to Kancha Ilaiah, burnt his effigies and books, along with subjecting him to various forms of harassment.

Referring to his own trouble with the community in the past, the social scientist said that they had an influence over the government because of their caste power, which is essentially their monopoly over capital. “Vysyas are a very rich community. So every politician wants to be in their good books. It is not for votes but for their money that governments want to please them,” he said.

This article was first published on The News Minute.

Andhra Pradesh to Return 2,000 Acres Marked For Kakinada SEZ to Farmers

The farmers who owned the land refused to part with their property or receive compensation and carried out an agitation for many years.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday issued an order for returning 2,180 acres of land, which was originally sought to be acquired for the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (SEZ) back in 2007, to the farmers following a protracted struggle.

The farmers who owned the land refused to part with their property or receive compensation and carried out an agitation for many years.

Based on the recommendations made by a six-member committee headed by agriculture minister K. Kanna Babu, the government ordered that the 2,180 acres of land be returned to the farmers so that the Kakinada SEZ could go ahead and industries be established.

The Union ministry of commerce and industry notified the Kakinada SEZ in the year 2007 for establishing a port-based multiproduct SEZ spread over several villages under U Kothapalli and Thondangi mandals in East Godavari district. The Kakinada SEZ could not take off as intended because of many unresolved issues, mainly those related to land.

Also read: Industry Caught in Jagan-Naidu’s One-Upmanship in Andhra Pradesh

As the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government sought to fast-track the Kakinada SEZ project, it constituted the six-member committee to talk to the aggrieved farmers and resolve the issues. The committee submitted its final report to the government last month and the cabinet approved it in toto.

Accordingly, the industries and commissioner department special chief secretary R. Karikal Valaven issued an order stating that habitations in Srirampuram, Badipeta, Mummidivaripadu, Pativaripalem, Ravivaripadu and Ramaraghavapuram (part) villages would not be disturbed. Only in case of Ramaraghavapuram, the habitations could be shifted to Ravivaripadu village if necessary, he said.

On the committee’s recommendation, the government ordered payment of a total compensation of Rs 10 lakh per acre for 657 acres of assigned lands that were taken for the KSEZ in Kona village. The committee also recommended payment of same amount of compensation for assigned lands taken for the Divis unit in the region.

The patta lands in these villages would also be removed from the list of prohibited properties that would enable sale and purchase.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh: Dispelling Some Myths About Amaravati and the Three Capitals Project

The special chief secretary said the AP Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries and Factories Act, 2019 has to be implemented providing 75% of jobs (in Kakinada SEZ) to the local unemployed youth. The Kakinada SEZ would also have to establish a skill development centre for the locals to acquire necessary skills fit for employment.

The government also directed that industries proposed to be set up in Kakinada SEZ or in the vicinity, including the Divis Labs unit, take all necessary precautions for proper treatment of effluents and shift the marine outfall to a farther point so as not to adversely affect the local hatcheries.

Andhra Pradesh: In Blow to Jagan Govt, State Election Commission to Hold Panchayat Polls

The state election commission and the Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy government had been at loggerheads for over a year.

Vijayawada: With the Supreme Court favouring elections to local bodies, Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar appears to have scored a victory over the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy government, with which he had been at loggerheads on the issue.

The division bench of the apex court, comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy, on Monday, dismissed the petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the verdict of the Andhra Pradesh high court, which had allowed the SEC to conduct local body elections in February.

Also read: Set Back to Jagan Govt As Andhra Pradesh HC Gives Nod to Conduct Panchayat Polls

The Supreme Court bench further observed, “We cannot be a part of this ego battle,” saying that the courts cannot interfere in the job of the Election Commission after a notification had been issued. The apex court rejected the contention of the government to put the elections on hold in view of the vaccination programme, referring to the elections held in Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana.

In the wake of the judgment of the high court, Kumar had issued the notification for the four-phase elections to village panchayats. The elections will be held in four phases on February 5, 9, 13 and 17 from 6.30 am to 3.30 pm. The model code of conduct (MCC) will be implemented in poll-bound areas from Saturday. Counting of votes will begin at 4 pm and declaration of results will take place on the same day as the polls.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Photo: Facebook/YSJagan

The initial notification for holding the gram panchayat polls in Andhra Pradesh was declared on March 7, 2020. However, the state government had cited the COVID-19 pandemic and contested the SEC’s decision to hold elections. Since then the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy government and the SEC remained poles apart, fighting many a legal battle on the elections with the government officials siding with the government.

The employees’ associations, representing the state secretariat and the NGOs, siding with the government, even passed resolutions against SEC Kumar’s decision to hold the elections. The Supreme Court also took serious note of this.

Top officials dropped

In an apparent bid to bring things under control, the SEC reportedly “censured” two top officials of the Panchayat Raj department – Gopalakrishna Dwivedi, principal secretary, and commissioner M. Girija Sankar – citing their “failure” to update the electoral rolls. They had been assigned the task to add three lakh new voters to the list

With his alleged tough posturing, Ramesh Kumar, the otherwise low-profile and unassuming 1984-batch IAS officer, has appeared to be a hard nut to crack.

The SEC has reportedly also asked chief secretary Adityanath Das to send him a panel of three officers, substituting Dwivedi and Girija Shankar.

Also read: AP SEC Files Contempt Plea Against State Govt in High Court

One Dhulipala Akhila, a 19-year old resident of Namburu from the Guntur district, has meanwhile filed a petition in the high court seeking to become a fresh voter. She expressed her anguish that she has been denied her voting right due to the failure on the part of authorities to revise the electoral rolls.

SEC under fire from YSRC

In a swift move, the SEC bypassed director general of police (DGP), D. Gautam Sawang, who it also accused of inaction and failing to check the excesses of the ruling YSR Congress activists in the initial stage of polling process, by appointing N. Sanjay, inspector general (IG) of police, Guntur range as a special officer. Sanjay is empowered to monitor security measures during elections and brief the SEC from time to time on measures in place to contain electoral malpractices.

SEC Ramesh Kumar also removed the collectors and superintendents of police (SPs) of Guntur and Chittoor districts and several other police officers from the election duties, citing their alleged bias in favour of the ruling party during the phase-1 election process for which the notification was issued on March 7, 2020.

Representative image. Photo: PTI

Minister for panchayati raj, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, strongly criticised Ramesh Kumar for shifting senior officials from election duties allegedly under the influence of the leader of the opposition, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Professor K. Nageshwar, a Hyderabad-based analyst, told The Wire that the Jagan government despite having a brute majority in the state assembly has lost the perception battle with the SEC.

“The government-SEC turf war left a takeaway: one has to honour the divergent roles vested with different organs of the constitution, such as the judiciary, election commission, legislature, etc.,” Nageswar observed.

Telangana

Telangana government headed by K. Chandrasekhar Rao in July 2019 had brought in a new Telangana Municipalities Act by amending the Section 195, in a move to usurp the powers of the SEC in conducting elections to urban local bodies. But the then governor of Telangana, E.S.L. Narasimhan, returned the Act without giving his assent.

Narasimhan observed that the particular piece of legislation was not in line with the spirit of the constitution and would encroach upon the powers of the SEC. The Telangana government restored powers to the SEC by enacting another legislation in September 2017.

Syed Aminul Hasan Jafri, a senior journalist, told The Wire that Jagan could have averted the confrontation with SEC Ramesh Kumar and saved himself from embarrassment by taking a leaf out of his father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s book. YSR served as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh from 2004-09.

“YSR had displayed statesmanship by honouring then SEC I.V. Subba Rao’s direction to shift then collector Pravin Prakash out of election duties twice. Once, during the by-poll in Visakhapatnam-I Assembly segment in 2006 and later in Rangareddy district in 2008 in the run-up to the general elections after his neutrality as the district election authority was questioned,” pointed out Jafri.

The YSR Congress government, headed by Jaganmohan Reddy, had in fact sacked Ramesh Kumar as the SEC through an ordinance in April 2020, when the latter did not toe its line to defer the local bodies elections then.

Desecration of Temples: AP Govt Alleges ‘Conspiracy’ to Disturb Communal Harmony

The officials’ statement came days after chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy termed the desecration of temples in the state as “political guerrilla warfare” and wondered who would benefit by such acts.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday claimed there was a “clear design and deeper conspiracy” to disturb communal harmony in the state by perpetrating crimes like desecration of temples.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday night, chief secretary Aditya Nath Das and additional director general of police (law and order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, in the wake of the recent vandalism in some temples in the state, said, “prima facie there is some conspiracy because a series of incidents are taking place one after the other in various districts, that too in remote places. So it is all, as of now, under investigation.”

“There is conspiracy…there is a design to disturb communal harmony. Every crime has some motive behind it. The motive in this crime is much deeper. The motive is to disturb the communal peace of the state,” Das observed.

“The state is undertaking a lot of activities for the benefit of the people and that activity must be derailed. That is the motive behind these crimes, so that we get busy controlling these kinds of things and don’t concentrate on development activities,” he claimed.

The additional DGP said that was precisely the point that was under investigation.

The technical data as well as the field level data was being gathered as part of the investigation in the cases that happened so far.

“There is one such case which has come to light where the electric saw was recovered. It was used in two incidents, one in Krishna district and one in Rajamahendravaram, to desecrate temples. This is one such fact that has emerged where the tool was used at two places. Like this many more facets may come out,” Ayyanar said.

The chief secretary noted that the recent incidents of desecration of temples not only brought a bad name to the state but also caused grave concern in the administration.

“It has also made us realise that constant vigil is necessary to maintain the spirit of togetherness and communal harmony in our state. So we have now constituted Communal Harmony Committees at the state and the district levels to take up confidence building measures and promote communal harmony in the state,” he said.

Besides the top officials headed by the chief secretary himself, the state-level committee would have one representative from each religion as members.

The district-level committee would be headed by the respective collector and district magistrate, Das said.

The committees have been formed to arrest the evil designs of conspirators.

“They will interact with the people. They will visit places where incidents occur. This is something where the society, everybody must get involved, not just for the police to investigate,” the chief secretary remarked.

Replying to a question, the additional DGP said so far only six persons were arrested in cases related to desecration of temples.

As many as 38 cases of vandalism of temple idols were reported in the state since June 2019, including three so far this year.

“Five of those cases were found to be false while there were no clues in 10 other cases,” Ayyanar said.

“The technical data and the evidence found at the crime scene…all being compiled and being investigated by a team leader. All data is being compiled and given to the Crime Investigation Department,” Ayyanar added.

As Jagan Completes One Year in Office, His Govt Continues to Face Legal Battles

The state’s high court and the Supreme Court have pulled up his government in as many as 60 cases that dealt with a plethora of policy matters.

Vijayawada: A direct confrontation with the judiciary has been a consistent theme of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s first year in office. During this period, the state’s high court and the Supreme Court have pulled up his government in as many as 60 cases that dealt with a plethora of policy matters. The courts felt that many of the decisions he took ran counter to the basic tenets of the rule of law.

The major decisions of the government overturned by the judiciary included the following:

Sacking of the state’s election commissioner N. Ramesh Kumar
Introduction of English as a medium of instruction in state-run schools
Painting the village secretariats with colours similar to that of the ruling party’s flag
Spiking the quota for backward classes from 27% to 34% in the Panchayat Raj elections
Divesting the state police of probing the infamous murder of Jagan’s uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy and shifting the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Entrusting the CBI to probe the case of a government doctor who was ‘tortured’ by the state police

Apart from these, Jagan’s agenda of distributive capitals ran through a rough patch after a batch of petitions were filed in the high court.

His tussle with the judiciary reached a flash point when the high court served notices on 44 leaders of the ruling YSR Congress, including two legislators. These leaders were involved in a social media campaign that attributed motives to the judges who delivered a ruling in the case of Dr Sudhakar. The medic, a government doctor from Visakhapatnam district, was suspended for protesting the lack of personal protection equipment (PPE) for health workers handling the COVID-19 pandemic and subjected to ‘torture and illegal detention’ by the police later.

Govt-SEC trade-off

In fact, CM Jagan himself took the lead to openly criticise constitutional bodies like the State Election Commission (SEC) for deferring the panchayat elections. “We represent a government with the task of realising people’s mandate. Can the SEC or any institution override a popular government tasked with welfare of people”, he said, questioning the rationale behind the SEC’s decision to defer the Panchayat Raj elections at a media conference on March 15.

Reddy even took strong objection when the SEC put on hold the process of allotting lands and implementing welfare schemes to the poor ahead of the local government elections.

Also Read: Jagan Govt Promulgates Ordinance to Remove State’s Election Commissioner

The YSR Congress party won 151 assembly and 22 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections on the plank of a basket of nine major welfare schemes called Navaratnalu. The Jagan government reportedly spent Rs 43,000 crore on a slew of welfare schemes in the last year.

Jagan claimed that if institutions like the SEC attempt to scuttle the “welfare of the poor” and the subaltern sections with the strength of their autonomy, it only amounts to undermining people’s mandate. However, such schemes were viewed by both the SEC and courts as freebies to incentivise voting for the ruling party.

His rival and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, during the 2019 elections, also raged against the Chief Election Commission (CEC), which had suspended welfare programmes as part of enforcing the model code of conduct.

The stalemate with the SEC still continues, with Ramesh Kumar reinstating himself as the election commissioner. Citing the objections raised by Andhra Pradesh advocate general Sriram Subramanyam over his reinstatement, Ramesh Kumar has alleged that the Jagan government has defied court’s order by not allowing him to assume charge. The SEC later withdrew the circular, appointing G. Vani Mohan as the commissioner.

Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar. Photo: Screengrab

‘People’s aspirations’

Srikakulam’s YSR Congress MLA Sidiri Appala Raju also made a similar argument, saying that the judicial pronouncements have failed to reflect the people’s aspirations and public interest. He cited the scrapping of a government order (GO) by the Andhra Pradesh high court that pertained to the introduction of English as a medium of instruction in government schools as a case in point. Even after nullification of the particular GO, the Jagan Reddy government mobilised public opinion through a series of interactions with students and parents to build a case in favour of its decision.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, speaking at a webinar on May 30 on insulating the judiciary from ‘social media diatribes‘, justified the contempt case initiated by the AP high court against leaders of the ruling party. He said, “The comments were abusive, in defiance of the court, and against the majesty of the court”. Salve pointed out that the tendency of “such people” is to undermine the judiciary when the court does not agree with them.

The system of checks and balances is essential for the proper functioning of the three organs—executive, legislature and judiciary—created by the constitution, said K. Nageswar, an analyst, highlighting the need for the heads of legislatures to refrain from attempts to undermine the judiciary.

Targeted for My Humanitarian Concerns, Says Woman Booked by Andhra Police for Gas Leak Post

The 60-year-old woman was questioned by the state CID over a Facebook post and charged with serious crimes, including promoting enmity and obscenity. If convicted, she could face a prison term of three years.

New Delhi: The woman booked for a social media post questioning the lack of transparency in the government’s response to the gas leak which killed 12 people in Visakhapatnam earlier this month says that she is being targeted for raising basic humanitarian concerns.

In a move that is being seen as a blatant attack by the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government on the right to free speech, the Andhra Pradesh police registered a case against the 60-year-old resident of Guntur on May 19, calling her Facebook post ‘objectionable’.

The post raises some ‘doubts’ about the government’s response to the leak of styrene gas from the LG Polymers plant near Vizag on May 7.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) questioned Ranganayaki on May 21 and issued a statement saying “misleading social posts against the state government cannot be justified as an expression of personal opinion”. The police also claimed that “her intention was not to ensure justice to the gas tragedy victims, but to create disaffection towards the elected government”.

The case against her has been registered under IPC sections 505 (2) (making statements that create or promote enmity), 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 120-B r/w 34 (criminal conspiracy) and also under Section 67 of IT Act which deals with obscenity.

Former central information commissioner M. Sridhar Acharyulu has criticised the police for invoking these sections while registering the case. “A factory is allowed to work without any permission that resulted in serious environment crime, which is being charged for homicide. At the same time, the Guntur CID thinks that Ranganayaki’s comment will cause an offence,” he said.

Since the case against her was filed, Ranganayaki has varyingly been described as a ‘social media activist’, ‘member of the [opposition] Telugu Desam Party IT cell’ and ‘TDP activist’. Speaking to The Wire, Ranganayaki rejected all these labels, saying she is a business owner who does not describe herself as an activist. Though she supported the previous TDP government, she is not affiliated to it, she said.

“A narrative is being created to project me as a TDP member. I raised these questions solely on humanitarian grounds. My intention was not to shift the blame for the gas leak to the government, but to only seek more transparency,” she said. Ranganayaki said that it is a citizen’s duty to demand accountability from the government, and she would have raised the same questions irrespective of which party was at the helm.

The government has been evasive about questions raised by the media, she said, prompting people who wanted answers to draft 20 points and share it on social media, Ranganayaki said. Raghu Nadh Malladi, who had originally compiled the questions, has also been called in for questioning, she said.

“There is no clarity on how serious the gas leak was or if it can have a long-lasting effect on the health of those who inhaled it. A few days ago, it emerged that a person who had inhaled the gas has now died, possibly making her the 13th victim of the tragedy,” she told The Wire. Her Facebook post was meant to ensure that all the victims – the close to 20,000 people who may have inhaled the gas – know the nature of the gas leak, Ranganayaki said.

Rights groups criticise police

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has issued a statement condemning her arrest. “Filing of the case amounts to a brazen attack on free speech. HRF demands that the State government immediately withdraw the case registered against Ranganayaki. The filing of this case betrays utter intolerance by those in power. It undermines and scuttles Constitutionally guaranteed rights to know, debate, differ, critique and dissent. These are quintessential rights necessary for the sustenance of a healthy and democratic society,” the NGO said.

It said that the questions raised by Ranganayaki in her Facebook post “are extremely pertinent”. “It is an admitted fact that the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) had granted Consent to Operate (CTO) to LG Polymers even though the plant did not obtain the mandatory Environmental Clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC). Running a plant without Environmental Clearance is an act of gross criminal negligence and the management is culpable for the human loss, injury and trauma,” the statement says.

Other rights groups have also said that while the government has promised to compensate the deceased families and the survivors, the criminal liability of the company, its management and personnel has not been raised.

During its term, many actions of the Jagan government have come under the scanner. It has been accused of ‘political vendetta‘ and suppression of media freedom.

Andhra Pradesh: As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Govt Leaders Come Under Fire for Lockdown Violations

After four people in the Raj Bhavan tested positive for the viral infection, the pandemic has reached the upper echelons of the government.

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the total number of cases nearing 1,300 and the death toll crossing 30. There have been no signs of the spread reducing in the state, with 82 new cases reported on Tuesday morning.

In Telangana, the figures continued to hover around 1,000, with the fatalities at 25. As per the official data released on Tuesday, the curve in Telangana seems to be flattening, with just two new cases reported.

The spurt in the cases in Andhra Pradesh, which does not have major airports with overseas footfalls like the one in Hyderabad, is a matter of grave concern. Initially, most patients in the two Telugu states were people returning from abroad and the people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation. Soon, the spread of the coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh entered the third stage of community transmission, which was confirmed by K.S. Jawahar Reddy, special chief secretary, Department of Medical and Health.

The spread has also reached the top echelons of the government, with four staffers in AP Raj Bhavan testing positive for the coronavirus infection. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, 85, however, tested negative, sources in the Raj Bhavan told The Wire, wishing to stay anonymous. The chief security officer and a special chief secretary attached to Raj Bhavan are reportedly among the four people who have COVID-19. The Wire was unable to contact the special chief secretary of the health department for official confirmation.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the office of the superintending engineer of the irrigation department was converted into the Raj Bhavan. The limited space in the office makes it quite difficult to keep the governor and his staffers maintain social distancing. The government has begun disinfecting the premises with the help of drones.

Former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, in an open letter on Tuesday, said the virus spreading the Raj Bhavan is a clear sign of administrative failure on the part of the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government to handle the pandemic effectively.

COVID-19 scare in MP’s family

In another case, YSR Congress Party MP Sanjeev Kumar, a doctor, and five other family members contracted the coronavirus infection. The MP, revealing this information to the media, said the case of his family contracting the infection is indicative of community spread in the Kurnool district. Of the six family members who were infected, four are doctors. The MP’s father is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Hyderabad.

Kurnool is a hotspot of the pandemic, with cases in the district inching towards 300. As observed in other parts of the country, locals are now disallowing families of COVID-19 victims from burying the bodies of the deceased. Reports suggested that residents of three villages on the outskirts of Kurnool staged a demonstration, opposing the burial of six victims in an open place adjacent to a national highway. Even though health experts have said that there is no risk of the virus spreading through dead bodies, the paranoia of people has lingered.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh: As COVID-19 Cases Rise, so Do Concerns About Lack of Equipment

The spread of the virus files in the face of claims made by the state government that it has contained the epidemic. The YSR Congress government claims to have launched a massive drive to combat the pandemic. Two lakh rapid test kits, half of those from South Korea, were procured to carry out the tests. Jawahar Reddy, the special chief secretary of the health department, said in a media briefing, that the government is equipped with 1.35 lakh personal protective equipment (PPEs), 1.65 lakh N-95 face masks and 2,000 ventilators. Media bulletins claim that 4,000 people with symptoms of the coronavirus are being conducted on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the BJP state president Kanna Lakshminarayana has accused the government of swindling public money amounting to Rs 14.5 crore by ruling party leaders to purchase substandard test kits.

Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. Photo: Facebook

Violations of lockdown by ruling party members

The spike in cases is however largely attributed to violations of the lockdown by the leaders of the ruling party. Videos showed R.K. Roja, an actor and YSR Congress MLA of Nagari in Chittoor district, inaugurating a public tap during the lockdown. Another ruling party MLA, B. Madhusudan Reddy, led a rally of tractors to mark the distribution of essentials to people in his Srikalahasti constituency.

In Nellore district, the police registered a case against the YSR Congress MLA Nallapureddy Prasannakumar Reddy for violating the lockdown to distribute food material to people in his Kovur constituency. YSR Congress MP Vijayasai Reddy is also accused of having been participating in a string of programmes in different parts of the state.

Meanwhile, the opposition TDP alleged that the ruling party leaders’ relief activities have an ulterior motive. The party claims that the distribution of food material and cash incentive to people with one eye on the upcoming local body elections, in violation of the lockdown guidelines.

CM Jagan has also been accused of failing to send the right message across about the gravity of pandemic. Critics say he has been diverting the government’s attention toward the elections and launching election-eve schemes such as loans for zero interest for 93 lakh women who are part of self help groups (SHG) and another which aims to improve infrastructure in primary schools.

Analyst K. Nageswar observed that the AP chief minister seems to have lost the battle of perception to project himself as an efficient administrator to contain the threat of COVID-19. Drawing a parallel with Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Nageswar said Jagan has failed to build a strong case in the public’s eye as to how he is burning the midnight oil to take on the epidemic.

The abrupt removal of state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar is a point in case suggesting that Reddy’s focus is tilted towards elections rather than fighting the pandemic.