Tag: ys jagan reddy

Why Andhra Pradesh Politics Just Got Interesting

As the battle for the South heats up, the BJP which has very little presence in Andhra Pradesh wants to use Jagan’s party.

The Congress which had been reduced to a rump in Andhra Pradesh after the division of the state in 2014 and the exit of Jagan Reddy from the party in 2011 is now set to mark its presence in the state significantly once again.

Last week, in a surprise move, Congress inducted Jagan’s sister Y.S. Sharmila as its party chief in Andhra Pradesh, setting her up as a rival to her brother Jagan, who is the chief minister of the state. Sharmila’s relations with her brother – that seemed normal till a year and a half ago – worsened over a long period and she left the YSR Congress party of her brother.

She moved over to Hyderabad and began operating in Telangana in an independent capacity. There was talk that she would join the Congress party in Telangana but with local Congress workers not very enthusiastic, Sharmila has now been moved over to Andhra Pradesh, which will go to polls early next year.

Meanwhile, the creation of Telangana that happened nearly ten years ago though not forgotten by folks in Andhra Pradesh today has little impact. This would mean that that animosity against the Congress party is all but gone in the state.

“The party now requires a new leader to take it forward. Whether Sharmila can galvanise the outfit is something that has to be watched,” says a senior Congress leader who hopes that the new leader would be successful. The leader feels that since the party has been more or less reduced to zero it will be easier for Sharmila to make a mark.

Being Jagan’s sister, she is uniquely placed to encroach on some of his support base, Congress workers say.

Sharmila gave indications of her plans by talking of minorities and the situation in Manipur. This is seen as a direct attack on her brother, Jagan. Both Jagan (and Sharmila) are Christians and there is an undercurrent in Andhra Pradesh that Christians are not getting the right treatment in the state in spite of Jagan.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh Is a Political Pesarattu in the Making

This is disputed by Jagan acolytes. In Manipur too, Christians have been among people who are at the receiving end of the recent violence. Jagan is seen to be on the side of the Bharatiya Janata Party which is perceived as a party representing Hindus. Jagan, however, has no other alternative. He left the Congress party of which he was a part and then landed up in jail for cases filed against him. Out of jail, the cases filed against him still persist.

The cases filed by CBI are for amassing disproportionate assets through misusing powers when his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The CBI controlled by the Union government is under the BJP.

As the battle for the South heats up, the BJP which has very little presence in Andhra Pradesh wants to use Jagan’s party. The BJP earlier – since the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee – was aligned with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) controlled by Chandrababu Naidu. But at the end of 2018, Naidu suddenly broke his partnership with the BJP leaving the saffron party high and dry. Many perceive that this was because Naidu had prime ministerial dreams that he wanted to achieve without BJP’s help. Naidu, however, assigned other reasons for breaking up the alliance with the BJP, contending that a special status promised for Andhra Pradesh was no longer forthcoming. The special status would mean more funds for the state. Whatever be the case in the changed circumstances, BJP was forced to tie up with Jagan’s outfit.

 In the meantime, Jagan, aware of the electoral battle that he will be pitted in against Chandrababu Naidu (and now his sister Sharmila) is delivering many subsidies to the electorate. His government does not have the means to deliver all of them to the public due to lack on funds. But he is depending on largesse from the Union government to deliver the goods. Naidu who was the chief minister between 2014 and 2019 is depending on his work in his term as also caste equations to bring him back to power. Some sections of the population favour Naidu strongly.

AG Refuses to Reconsider Decision Declining Consent to Initiate Contempt Against Jagan

K.K. Venugopal once again reiterated that since CJI S.A. Bobde is seized of the matter, it would not be appropriate for him to grant consent.

New Delhi: Attorney general K.K. Venugopal has refused to reconsider his November 2 decision declining consent to BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay to initiate contempt proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and his principal advisor for making allegations against judges.

The topmost law officer, in his reply to Upadhyay’s letter seeking reconsideration of the decision, reiterated his stand saying that the issue of contempt was between Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde and chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and his principal advisor Ajeya Kallam.

Venugopal on Saturday also said in the response that the lawyer was not precluded from raising this issue on his own before apex court judges or during the hearing of a PIL filed by him only seeking the lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers.

Upadhyay, on November 5, had urged Venugopal to have a relook on the decision and said, “I humbly request you to peruse these points (particularly the fact that the question of contempt is not pending anywhere else) and kindly reconsider the granting of consent to my request.

“This is an issue of great importance at a time when our judiciary continues to be besieged by attacks, and a strong stand needs to be taken by those of us who are a part of the institution,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Reddy. Photo: PTI

In the November 7 reply, Venugopal referred to his earlier response and said, “The very crux of the alleged contempt lies in the contents of the letter written by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to the Chief Justice of India, and thus open to the Supreme Court to take up the matter of contempt suo motu as provided by the Contempt of Courts Act, and the rules made thereunder.”

“Given that the CJI is seized of the matter, it would not be appropriate for me to grant consent and preclude the determination of the Chief Justice of India on the matter. As you are no doubt aware, contempt is a matter between court and contemnor, and no person as of right can insist upon the initiation of contempt proceedings,” he said.

Venugopal said his decision does not preclude Upadhyay from bringing these facts to the notice of the judges of the Supreme Court with a prayer for initiation of suo motu action.

“You may exercise this right by way of information placed on the administrative side or by bringing it to the attention of the court during the hearing of …where you are already a petitioner in person,” Venugopal said in his letter.

Taking the consent of the law officer is a condition precedent for initiating criminal contempt against a person.

In an unprecedented move, the chief minister, on October 6, had written to the CJI alleging that the Andhra Pradesh high court was being used to “destabilise and topple my democratically elected government”. He also accused Supreme Court judge N.V. Ramana, next in line to be the CJI, of corruption.

Upadhyay had sought the attorney general’s consent for initiating the contempt against the CM and his advisor in light of the allegations made in the letter.

Venugopal, on November 2, termed as “prima facie contumacious” the conduct of Reddy and Kallam for making allegations against the judiciary, but had declined consent to Upadhyay to initiate contempt against them on the grounds that CJI Bobde was seized of the matter.

Andhra Pradesh: Spate of Attacks Undermine Jagan’s Promise of Social Justice

While the chief minister has claimed to head a government for the minorities and the marginalised, multiple party members have been accused of involvement in attacks on members of these communities.

Vijayawada: The woeful tale of Shaik Hazeera, an anganwadi worker at Raychoti in Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s native Kadapa district, seemingly presents the other side of his claims to head a government for the minorities.

Hazeera, a staunch supporter of Jagan’s party, had campaigned for the local MLA candidate the assembly elections of 2019. In September, a case was registered against her under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation by the local police. The case was registered soon after she circulated a video in her WhatsApp groups narrating the nightmares she was subjected to by a group of leaders from the YSR Congress Party.

The anganwadi centre where Hazeera works was set on fire a few days ago. Subsequently, her house was raided and her family members were manhandled by unknown persons. Talking to The Wire, Hazeera sees a link between the witness statement she gave to the police about a group of people attacking a youth with lethal weapons near the anganwadi centre, the arson and the raid on her house.

She suspects that the police registered the ‘false case’ against her under pressure from the agriculture market yard chairman, who she says is a close supporter of the local MLA. “At last, I had to take help from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Srinivasa Reddy, against whom I worked in the previous election, to receive legal aid to get the case quashed in the high court”, she explained.

The state’s deputy chief minister Amzath Basha Shaik Bepary also hails from the Kadapa district. When no one from the YSR Congress came to her rescue, Hazeera says she had to take help from a TDP leader.

 Self-immolation bid

In another disturbing case in the Kakinada district, Shaik Sattar attempted to die by self-immolation on the premises of the district collector’s office in the second week of October.

He had been seeking protection for his family from a gang which is accused of sexually assaulting his 10-year-old daughter. The police at Bommuru near Rajahmundry arrested three persons under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on October 10 after Sattar’s wife filed a complaint.

Later, a counter-case was booked against the victim’s family under SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the police, after they received a complaint from one of the accused who is from a Scheduled Castes.

Sattar’s family said they were under pressure to withdraw the complaint. He attempted to die by suicide allegedly after the district superintendent of police refused to meet him. In a petition addressing the SP, Sattar alleged that the police had booked the counter case under pressure from a local MLA of the ruling party, as one of the accused is his supporter.

Mohammed Farooq Shubli, president of the Forum for Protection of Muslims Rights, criticised the Jagan government for its mishandling of such cases. He said that while the chief minister had appointed a Muslim leader as the deputy CM and has several legislators from the community, there seems to be an apathy regarding cases of harassment and assault.

Also Read: Andhra: Police Tonsure Dalit Man for ‘Unruly Behaviour’ Towards YSR Congress Leader

Tonsure victim vows to join Naxalites

In July, a Dalit man was tonsured by the police at a station. The victim is waging a lone battle to bring the man behind the horrific incident to book. The SI and a few constables were arrested for their involvement in the incident but the police are yet to lay their hands on the local YSR Congress leader Krishnamurthy, allegedly at whose behest Indagamilli Varaprasad was tonsured by the SHO and his men.

Vexed with the alleged official apathy in his case, Prasad wrote to the President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission to join Naxalites and avenge humiliation meted out to him by upper-caste man.

Andra Malyadri of AP Kula Vivaksha Porata Samithi, an anti-caste outfit, said that it is disturbing to note that in many cases of atrocities against Dalits since the Jagan government came to power, the police and sections of the ruling YSR Congress were the perpetrators. Giving a few examples, he said that in Chirala, a youngster from a Dalit community was beaten to death by a local SI for not wearing a mask. In Chittor district, a magistrate who is a Dalit was attacked by men allegedly close to a minister and the police were accused of being indifferent to registering a complaint from the victim, Malyadri said.

Varaprasad, president of the AP branch of the OBC Samkshema Sangham (ONC Welfare Association), said as many as 50 cases of harassment, attacks and social boycotts involving members of the OBCs have come to his notice in the recent past. He said the trend is quite alarming.

Prasad explained that by utilising reservations, backward classes have made rapid progress in literacy, employment and in the political arena over a period of time. And in the process, they began to assert themselves, which saw the upper castes, which have sway over political power, retaliate with violence.

Upsetting Jagan’s apple-cart

The YSR Congress rode to power in 2019 after forging a formidable alliance of Muslim and Christian minorities, Dalits and backward castes. In an apparent bid to tout his government’s vision of social justice, Jaganmohan Reddy in an unprecedented way appointed four deputy CMs from marginalised communities. Apart from Amjad Basha Shaik Bepari), Narayana Swamy (a Dalit), Dharmana Krishna Das (a BC leader) and Pushpa Vani (a Scheduled Tribe woman) were appointed as deputy CMs.

But social justice will not be delivered to the subaltern sections by merely appointing a few of them as ministers and deputy CMs (who do not have any powers), remarks an observer, wishing to remain anonymous.

The feudal structure of the state, which is largely agrarian, by and large remains unchanged, commented KVPS leader Malyadri. He said the political power continues to be dominated by the upper castes. The fate of weaker sections will not change without the elimination of this feudal structure, irrespective of which party is in power, Malyadri believes.

If the spate of crimes is any indication, Jagan’s rhetoric about social justice is not translating into the empowerment of the marginalised sections on the ground level, thanks to impediments in the police machinery and even within his party.

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

Evidence does not support the claim that the Chandrababu Naidu government was myopic in its vision to develop Amaravati as an engine of growth.

Say a lie enough times and it might turn true. Communalise an issue over and over and there might not be any other way to look at it. The latest entry to this tradition was an opinion piece published in a major South Indian daily. The article promotes the three capitals proposal of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and repeats the same set of falsehoods about the planned capital Amaravati and N. Chandrababu Naidu.

In its very first line, the editorial accuses ‘friendly’ media of giving a rosy tint to Chandrababu Naidu’s term as CM in the 2000s. That might very well be true. But in going the opposite way, in imputing false intentions and indulging in bad faith arguments, the publication leaves itself open to accusations of being called a cheerleader for the other camp. One has to be careful to not pass off opinion as facts. A grand vision that looks to transform the reality of that time must not be mystified and disparaged with a cloud of weak arguments.

The allegations laid out go like this. First, that Chandrababu Naidu had a ‘penchant for grandiose programs lacking in substance.’ It is claimed that only Amaravati had been focused upon, especially to the detriment of other regional interests. Second, even if there was hard work, it was essentially to preserve power among the Kamma caste by building the capital between Vijayawada and Guntur. Third, the plan to build Amaravati bucked the recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee about the need for decentralised development and not wasting fertile land. Fourth, Amaravati would have been the symbol of a megalomaniac and not a ‘people’s capital’. It apparently had only speculative money flowing in.

N. Chandrababu Naidu and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. Photos: PTI Illustration: The Wire

Setting the facts right

The rise of Hyderabad, the model for Amaravati, as an IT powerhouse and how its revenues were redistributed to alleviate poverty is well-documented. From Rs 20 lakh in 1992, Hyderabad’s IT exports rose to Rs 0.32 lakh crore in 2009 and to Rs 1.28 lakh crore in 2019. As per Planning Commission estimates, Andhra Pradesh saw the biggest decline in poverty between 1993-94 to 2011-12 in India, from 35.1% to 5.8%. This transformation is partly due to the liberalisation and globalisation policies of the Centre and state government (under the Telugu Desam Party) between 1994-2004.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the irony is that in the residual state, not enough was spent on Amaravati to begin with. A large chunk of foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investments went to the districts of Chittoor (Celkon, Karbonn and Foxconn), Anantapur (KIA Motors), Vizag (Adani and LuLu), Vizianagaram (Patanjali Food Park) and Krishna (HCL).

That these efforts were successful is evident from the fact that Andhra Pradesh topped India in creating quality jobs, and in terms of gender equality, youth employment, and labour force participation rate, as determined by the Just Jobs Index report in 2019. Huge solar parks in Kurnool and Kadapa, the biggest in the world, begun in 2017-18, are at various stages of commission. Each was touted to produce 1000 megawatts of power. These undertakings, located in the backward Rayalaseema region of the state, provided lakhs of jobs overall.

The Sivaramakrishnan Committee raised concerns of food security when taking away thousands of acres of fertile land for urbanisation. Counter-intuitively, using a tiny fraction (0.03% of Guntur’s net sown area of 13 lakh acres) for the Amaravati capital region does not harm the national or state food security, precisely because the whole region is a rice bowl.

The benefits of tapping into the locally vibrant private sector to build a greenfield city outweigh concerns about wasting fertile land, especially in a valley as fertile as this. Nearly 70% of those who donated land through an innovative and non-coercive land-pooling scheme were small and marginal farmers, holding less than 2 acres, not absentee landlords.

As for the claim of preserving power among the Kammas, it is pertinent to note that the Capital region straddles four SC-reserved constituencies (Prathipadu, Tadikonda, Nandigama, and Tiruvuru) in Krishna and Guntur districts. As per demographics, the 29 panchayats making up the Capital have more than 75% of BCs, SCs, and minorities, with Kapus making up a considerable chunk in 15 of these panchayats.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh: What Explains Jagan’s Decision to Have Three Capitals

Decentralised development between 2014-19

The Committee itself identified the Vijaywada-Guntur Urban Agglomeration to be most suitable for building a new capital, in terms of development, water availability and connectivity. Conversely, Greater Vizag was determined to be the worst of all options in terms of connectivity and risk factor. It is also located in an ecologically sensitive zone, having faced multiple cyclones. It strains economic logic that North Andhra is sought to be developed by locating the capital in Vizag. It is the 10th richest city in India (fourth in South India) in terms of GDP and per capita income. Vizag is already a powerful growth engine for North Andhra.

A panoramic view of Visakhapatnam. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Av9 CC B SA 4.0

If we peruse the Andhra government budgets between 2014-19, and how these are implemented on ground, it is evident that a major share of fiscal resources was spent on public investments in agriculture. This runs directly counter to the claims in the article. Polavaram was the government’s flagship irrigation project and had been two-thirds completed as per the Centre’s own utilisation certificates. Lift irrigation projects, inter-linking of rivers, and dams were undertaken across the state, be it the Veligonda and Gundlakamma projects in Prakasam, Nellore and Sangam barrages in Nellore, interlinking of Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers in Srikakulam, and the Handri Neeva Canal project across Rayalaseema.

Topping India, more than a lakh ponds were dug by converging MEPMA and NREGA programmes in Anantapur to alleviate its historical water scarcity. Capital expenditure saw an average increase of 17% every year between 2015-19 in contrast to a decrease of 35% in 2019-20.

Vendetta politics will cost people of AP

The article laments that journalists sitting in air-conditioned offices must not comment on the affairs of the state or accuse the CM of being another Tughlaq. However, it is evident that Jagan is displaying the same lack of empathy as the emperor, for people who must traverse great distances to demand justice, get permissions, or meet ministers for any kind of grievance redressal.

With the high court in Kurnool and capital in Vizag, people of North Andhra and Rayalaseema must travel between 600-900 km to demand justice or get any work done. This applies to officials heading departments and state bodies too. The police headquarters are located in Mangalagiri in Guntur district. With the government as a litigant in thousands of cases, top bureaucrats are frequently summoned to testify. The DGP himself was summoned by the high court several times this year.

The current Andhra Pradesh high court building in Amaravati. Photo: IM3847/Wikimedia Commons CC BY SA 4.0

Governance suffers if bureaucrats spend half the week shuttling between the two ends of Andhra. Virtual meetings could solve the issue of court appearances and meetings. However, a considerable amount of research has shown how the Indian bureaucracy is extremely dependent on paperwork and signatures of multiple personnel to minimise any potential blame. Splitting the capital will only exacerbate this dysfunction.

Decentralisation is not achieved by situating a few state institutions in this or that city. Economic geographies and complex market linkages determine how cities and regions develop, not the shifting of government jobs. Nor is administration decentralised when all executive bodies are being set up in Vizag. It goes against the Sivaramakrishnan Committee’s recommendations to distribute administrative departments and bodies of the government across AP.

Vizag becomes even less of a people’s capital if it is being chosen at such obvious discomfort to the people and the administration. Amaravati is centrally located, has a glorious history as a Satavahana capital and a Buddhist haven, and was being built by tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit of people and companies of Andhra, India and the world. The chief minister is being extremely indifferent and even vindictive in what is widely seen as a political move. In unilaterally shifting capitals despite promising complete support to Amaravati during and before the 2019 elections, the leaders and cadre of YSR Congress are abusing the people’s mandate.

V. Vamsi Viraj works with covidwire.in, a COVID-19 news aggregator, and with Yuva Galam, a youth advocacy organization. He was previously a research associate for ethnographic work in Anantapur district and constituency development work in Srikakulam.

Andhra Pradesh: Sonu Sood’s Charitable Act Sees Farmer Caught in a Political Storm

A controversy has erupted around Viradulli Nageswara Rao, as the ruling YSR Congress government tries to ‘prove’ that farmers in the state are receiving benefits under various welfare schemes.

Amaravati: A charitable act by Sonu Sood has sparked a political row around the condition of farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

The actor is no stranger to Telugu audience, having made his mark in Tollywood (he received a state award for ‘Best Villain’ in the blockbuster flick Arundhati). The Mumbai-based actor has been in the news ever since the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed, as he helped thousands of stranded migrant workers reach their homes by arranging chartered flights, special trains and buses.

In his latest act of charity, Sood sent a brand new tractor to a farmer family based in the drought-prone Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

A video of two minor girls pulling a plough to sow groundnut in the fields of Mahal Rajupalli village of Chittoor district went viral on social media on Sunday. The video showed Dalit farmer Viradulli Nageswara Rao ploughing his one acre of land with the help of his two daughters—Vennela and Chandana— while his wife sows the seeds in the furrows.

The issue was brought to Sood’s attention after he was tagged in a video on Twitter.


Moved by the plight of the farmer, Sood, a day after the video was posted, promised to send a pair of oxen to the family of the farmer but later changed his mind. Sharing the video, Sood said, “The family doesn’t deserve a pair of ox. They deserve a tractor. So sending you one. By evening, a tractor will be ploughing your fields. Stay blessed”.

Naidu’s tweet triggers fracas

Telugu Desam Party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is also leader of the opposition, late on Sunday tagged Sood in a tweet and said, “Spoke with @SonuSood ji & applauded him for his inspiring effort to send a tractor to Nageswara Rao’s family in Chittoor District. Moved by the plight of the family, I have decided to take care of the education of the two daughters and help them pursue their dreams.”

Sonu, in his reply, responded saying, “Thank you so much sir for all the encouraging words. Your kindness will inspire everyone to come forward and help the needy. Under your guidance millions will find a way to achieve their dreams. Keep inspiring sir. I look forward meeting you soon”.

The lull that existed until Naidu’s tweet gave way to a political storm, with the ruling YSR Congress swinging into action to ‘prove’ that the family had received several benefits from government welfare schemes. Even as the brand new Sonalika tractor, with an estimated value of Rs 8.5 lakh, rolled straight up to the doorstep of Nageswara Rao, KV Palli mandal parishad development officer (MPDO) Mohan Raju visited the village on a fact-finding mission, as instructed by district collector N. Bharath Gupta.

Later, the officer told reporters, “The media reports that the family is impoverished and could not afford to engage oxen or tractor to plough the field is absolutely false. The family voluntarily did it. I was informed that the family wanted to have the experience (of pulling the plough) as a sweet memory. The family have confessed that they never expected the issue would take such a turn”.

Chintala Ramachandra Reddy, the YSR Congress MLA representing the Piler assembly segment under which Nageswara Rao’s village falls, also took to Twitter, endorsing the MPDO’s version. The tweet listed out a slew of financial benefits the family has received under government schemes.

The government’s feverish reaction is apparently intended to present a rosy picture of the situation of farmers under the chief ministership of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The swift reaction also shows that the government is eager to prevent Naidu, who was the CM before Jagan, from capitalising on any reports of farmer distress.

But Nageswara Rao told The Wire that he is a small farmer, owning 1.85 acres of land. “I did not even cheat the government by making wrong claims…. and the benefit (tractor) which I got did not come from the government. I don’t understand why this controversy is getting flared up around me,” he lamented.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a deadly blow to his smalltime business in Madanapalli, which is 40km away from his village. “I used to make a living by earning Rs 400 a day by running a tea stall. When the lockdown was imposed, I was forced to wind up my business and return to my village to get back to cultivation,” he said. He tried to rent a tractor to sow groundnut in one acre of his land, but could not afford the Rs 2,000 demanded by the owner. Therefore, he decided to till the land manually by engaging his daughters, Nageswara Rao said.

“We did not shoot the video intentionally to draw the attention of philanthropists. Sonu Sood’s donation was just coincidental,” Nageswara Rao explained.

Oxen disappearing

Nageswara Rao said that usually, oxen were used for tilling farmlands and drawing carts to transport farm produces. But they have not had one for nearly three decades. The price of a pair of oxen ranges between Rs 1.5-Rs 2.5 lakh, said Nageswara Rao, adding that it is out of reach for small farmers like him who hardly own 2 acres of land.

Bojja Dasaradharami Reddy, the secretary general of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA), explained the reason for the decreasing number of cattle in the Rayalaseema region. He said the region faces recurring drought conditions every season, which leads to an acute shortage of fodder. This has seen the near extinction of agriculture-enabled cattle in Rayalaseema, he said.

A farmer uses his oxen to till his land. Representative image. Photo: REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Farmers retain milch animals, while bulls are sold either to slaughter houses or to draw carts for transport purpose. The tractor has literally edged oxen out of agriculture, as it performs most of the functions – tilling, sowing, seeding, harvesting and threshing – which the animals were used for, Dasaradharami Reddy said.

Rao also agreed, saying the cost of owning oxen outweigh the benefits. In the Rayalaseema region, the crops of most farmers are rainfed and do not have access to agriculture. Therefore, they depend on a single crop like groundnut for the entire year.

“Agriculture operations hardly last for two months. If we want to engage oxen for two months, we will have to feed them for the whole year, which is expensive. Instead, farmers find it viable to rent tractors,”  Nageswara Rao said.

AP Assembly to Pass Resolution Asking Centre to Revert to 2010 NPR Format

Chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to spell out the YSR Congress’ stand on the issue.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government will pass a resolution in the ensuing Budget session of the state Legislature, requesting that the Centre maintain the National Population Register (NPR) as it existed in the year 2010.

Chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to spell out the YSR Congress’ stand on the NPR issue.

“Some of the questions proposed in the NPR are causing insecurities in the minds of minorities of my state.

After elaborate consultations within our party, we have decided to request the Central Government to revert the conditions to those prevailing in 2010,” the chief minister said in the first tweet.

“To this effect, we will also introduce a resolution in the upcoming assembly session,” Jagan said in the second tweet.

The chief minister’s tweets came in the backdrop of his government’s recent order, gearing up the administrative machinery for the conduct of the NPR exercise and Housing Listing and Housing Census as part of the Census of India 2021 to be taken up for 45 days between April and September 2020.

“In view of a number of apprehensions and doubts being expressed in various quarters with respect to the conduct of NPR exercise, following clarifications are issued to all the District Collectors/ Principal Census Officers in the shape of “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) for easy dissemination to all concerned,” general administration department secretary Shashi Bhushan Kumar said in the order issued on January 22.

He said people are not required to submit any document to the enumerators during the NPR exercise.

“Enumerators are just required to record whatever answers are given by the people and not to press for any further answers to any query if they do not intend to give and also not to ask for any document,” Kumar said in the order.

The GAD secretary added that all officials involved, from enumerators onwards, “have been/are being trained” to the effect that there was no requirement of submission of any document by the people during the NPR exercise, nor any requirement to insist for an answer to any query if people do not intend to answer.

Jagan Govt Introduces Bill in Andhra Assembly to Make 3 Capitals in State

The Bill proposes three capitals – the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool.

Amaravati: The Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Monday introduced a Bill in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to give shape to its plan of having three capitals for the state, with the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool.

The AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, also provides for dividing the state into various zones and establishing zonal planning and development boards.

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and cleared the draft Bills.

The Cabinet also approved the recommendations of the High-Power Committee of ministers and bureaucrats on the capitals’ issue.

Moving the Bill on the first day of the extended winter session, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath said the government decided to enact a new legislation for decentralisation and inclusive development of all regions in the state for ensuring “balanced and inclusive growth” of AP.

TDP Chief Naidu Asks Andhra CM Jagan Reddy Not to Shift Capital From Amaravati

If shifted, there will be a problem of environmental degradation as the land cannot be used for agriculture, the TDP president said.

New Delhi: Ahead of a special session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly called to decide on a proposal to have three capitals, TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy not to shift the state capital from Amaravati, warning that about Rs 50,000 crore committed investment could be withdrawn and also make farmers suffer.

Denying any “irregularities” in the decision making for Amaravati as capital during his tenure, Naidu asserted he does not have any “vested interest” in Amaravati, saying his party is fighting to control further damage of the state.

Alleging that Andhra Pradesh is on “the path of destruction”, Naidu said if the present government – which is already in debt – does not honour the agreements, it will dent the image of the state and investors will lose confidence for future investment.

The YSRCP government, which took over in May last year, has alleged irregularities by the previous Naidu government in awarding contracts and in allotting prime lands to those close to the then chief minister.

On January 20, the three-day special winter session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin to approve the report of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on “distributed capital functions”. The chief minister wants to have executive capital at Visakhapatnam, legislative capital at Amaravati and judicial capital at Kurnool.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh CM Reddy Appears Before CBI Court in Hyderabad

In an exclusive interview to PTI from Vijayawada, Naidu – a former chief minister of new Andhra Pradesh and also the undivided state – said there is “no logic” in having three capitals and called the government’s proposed plan just a “witch hunt” against the Telugu Desam Party(TDP).

“Does it makes sense to shift the capital when the construction is almost at an advanced stage? An investment of nearly Rs 50,000 crore has been committed that has the potential to generate 50,000 jobs in the state. About 130 institutes from hospitals to education hubs were to come up. All this will not happen if the capital is shifted,” Naidu said.

Already Rs 10,000 crore has been spent on developing Amaravati and many structures from the secretariat to assembly complexes, courts, Raj Bhavan and DGP office have come up. The construction of 5,000 quarters for ministers and senior officers is underway, he said, adding everything will be ready in Amaravati if the government spends another Rs 2,000-3,000 crore.

If shifted, there will be a problem of environmental degradation as the land cannot be used for agriculture, the TDP president said.

On top of it, farmers – who are yet to get compensation for donating 33,000 acres of land under a unique ‘land pooling scheme’ for creation of the capital and who are agitating against the government’s plan to shift the capital – will be badly affected with the proposed move, he said and added the compensation amount is to the tune of Rs 1-4 lakh crore.

Denying any “irregularities” in making Amaravati as capital, he said it was created based on recommendations of the Sivaramakrishnan Committee constituted by the Centre in 2014 post-bifurcation.

Amaravati was chosen because it is a centrally located place and is planned and positioned very well in all aspects, he said adding the area for capital was already selected and that chapter is over now.

“If there were any irregularities, the government is free to act. Already eight months in power, why the government is not initiating any action. Instead of taking action, it is unnecessarily indulging in mudslinging,” he said.

Except for the interest of five crore people of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said he does not have “any vested interest” in Amaravati. “As a politician, I have only one interest, that is the development and future of the state.”

Also read: What Explains Pawan Kalyan’s Decision to Ally With BJP?

“I had prepared vision 2020 for combined Andhra Pradesh. Almost all has happened in Hyderabad. For new Andhra Pradesh, I prepared a vision 2029-2050. By 2029, Andhra should be the number one state in the country in all aspects like per capita income and growth. Now, this man (Reddy) has damaged all hopes.”

Alleging that the ruling YSRCP government is spreading lies rather than giving a convincing logic for shifting the capital, Naidu said the contention of the Reddy government is that Amaravati capital is being built on a submergeable area although Green Tribunal has made it clear it is not the case and even the Supreme Court had upheld its decision.

Another lie the state government said was that Amaravati was not suitable for the capital quoting a report of IIT Chennai. However, the IIT Chennai has denied having come out with any such report, the TDP president said.

Many countries have followed the concept of having all the key offices in one place in the capital. Even the national capital New Delhi is bringing all offices in one place, he said, adding the same concept was followed at Amaravati where all departments will be housed in five towers for better governance.

Asked about his political strategy to stall the government’s proposed three capitals plan, Naidu said: “We will work out a strategy. He (CM) is having a majority in the assembly, we are having a majority in the council. We have to work it out how it is going to happen.”

“It is 5 crore people of Andhra Pradesh versus Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government. In eight months, people have changed their minds. Everyone is annoyed with the government. People will have to protect the state,” he said.

(PTI)

Andhra Pradesh: Sudden Transfer of Chief Secretary Raises Questions on Accountability

Concerns are bening raised about the Chief Minister’s Office interfering in the domain of the executive.

Vijayawada: The unceremonious exit of L.V. Subramanyam from the chief secretary post in the first week of this month exposes chinks in the IAS’s steel frame in Andhra Pradesh. The incident also serves as a classic case of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) bulldozing its way into the domain of the executive.

Subramanyam’s shifting was hasty and he was asked to relinquish his job instantly, with the commissioner of land administration Neerab Kumar Prasad replacing him with “immediate effect”. This forced LV, as Subramanyam is popular in official circles, to skip an inter-state meeting scheduled with the Telangana government in Hyderabad to address pending bifurcation-related issues and return to the AP secretariat at Velagapudi to facilitate the transition process.

Subramanyam was asked to take charge as the director general of the Andhra Pradesh Human Resources Development Institute at Bapatla.

Embarrassingly for the 1983 batch IAS officer, he received transfer orders from Praveen Prakash, a subordinate officer in the CMO, with whom he had a tiff recently. Prakash serves as the principal secretary (political) of the general adminsitration department and as the principal secretary to the chief minister.

Subramanyam, who is due to retire on April 30, 2020, served a show-cause notice on Prakash, asking him why a disciplinary action could not be initiated against him on charges of “gross disobedience, insubordination and violation of business rules and conduct rules”. The chief secretary cited a couple of files relating to the YSR Lifetime Achievement Awards and Grama Nyayalayas, which Prakash in his capacity as the principal secretary (political) of the GAD, failed to deal with in compliance of the Andhra Pradesh Business Rules.

Prakash was accused by Subramanyam of holding back the file relating to the Grama Nyayalayas following oral instructions from the CM, keeping the chief secretary in the dark.

His transfer orders came within a few hours after the show-cause notice, indicating the proximity Praveen Prakash enjoys with Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

Praveen Prakash. Photo: Screegrab/Tv10

A one-time confidant

Subramanyam was once considered a loyalist of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and his family. YSR, as he was popularly known, was the chief minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh state between 2004 and 2009. Subramanyam figured as the eleventh accused in the infamous Emaar land scam, in which Jaganmohan Reddy is facing trial in the CBI court as A1 (first accused). The high court, however, discharged Subramanyam from the case in 2018 for want of prima facie evidence establishing his role in the quid pro quo case.

Later, he was handpicked by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to replace Anil Chandra Punetha as chief secretary in the run up to the state and parliament elections earlier this year. Subramanyam had a turbulent time with previous CM N. Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP while enforcing the model code.

Naidu questioned his appointment, accusing Subramanyam of working with the NDA’s “hidden agenda” to scuttle his party’s winning prospects. The TDP charged that Subramanyam was instrumental in shuffling the IAS and IPS officers who had a soft corner for the Naidu government at the request of Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress under the pretext of enforcing the model code.

L.V. Subramanyam. Photo: Facebook/AP government

After getting relief from the Emaar land scam case, Subramanyam reportedly reneged on taking controversial decisions, leading to a widening in the gulf between him and Jaganmohan Reddy. Particularly, his whistle-blowing over the presence of Christians in Hindu temples, especially the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s (TTD) which manages the Balaji temple at Tirumala, hastened his exit, it is said.

Subramanyam, who served the TTD’s executive officer in the past, is a staunch Hindu. The Jagan government began to view him with suspicion as being close with the BJP government at the Centre because of him asking non-Hindu staff to give up their jobs at temples.

CMO: A power centre with little responsibility?

The Subramanyam case brings the spotlight on an element of arrogance and lack of wisdom with which the CMO is apparently functioning. The apparent lack of accountability was brought to focus by I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, who retired as chief secretary of the AP government. In 2017, he filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the AP high court seeking to put an end to alleged misuse of power by the CMO and that special advisors had created a “parallel secretariat”.

In the petition, Krishna Rao highlighted the need to make the CMO accountable by bringing in certain changes in the business rules. He said that the CMO does not maintain any record of the aid or advise given by these officers and that none of them sign any files that are put up for the consideration and decision of the chief minister.

“Additionally, it is my humble submission that the said office bearers [advisors] maintain certain informal notes for their convenience and the same are destroyed at regular intervals as per the choice of the officer concerned,” the petition said. “This practice makes the officers in the CMO less responsible and accountable,” Krishna Rao contended.

E.A.S. Sarma, a retired IAS officer, told The Wire that having one IAS officer as the principal secretary in the CMO, as well as the principal secretary (political) in the GAD, is an unhealthy practice that may cause bad blood between the legislative and executive organs of the government. He said it also results in the CMO’s direct intrusion in administrative affairs through its principal secretary, Praveen Prakash.

The lack of proper coordination between the CMO and the secretariat came to the fore when the name of an annual award given to the Class X students was changed. A GO was issued by the department of school education re-naming the award after Jagan’s father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Since 2017, it bore the name of former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. After adverse reactions from different sections, the chief minister asked officials not to change the name, calling it a goof up due to a “communication gap” in the administration. Sarma says this speaks of immaturity in governance.

N. Chandrababu Naidu and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. Photos: PTI Illustration: The Wire

‘Naidu brand’ officers facing exclusion?

Since YSR’s regime, there has been a marked shift in the way bureaucrats function. Officials in the Andhra Pradesh government began aligning along political and caste lines. This became more obvious since Jagan came to power with a resounding victory in the April 2019 elections with his own clique of officers holding coveted posts.

Those who apparently enjoyed preferential treatment during the TDP regime were pushed into the background. Satish Chandar, who headed the CMO under Naidu as a special chief secretary, was posted in the higher education department a few days ago, after the orders were held for five months. Two other senior IAS officers in the Naidu CMO – Rajamouli and Sai Pratap – are still awaiting posting orders.

Public administration experts fear that under the Jagan dispensation, the official machinery may get demoralised and crippled on account of the parallel and shadow administration run by a contingent of “special advisors”. Subramanyam was reportedly fed up with a flow of “advises” coming from special advisor to the CM, Ajeya Kallam, who retired as chief secretary to the AP government.

Recently, the Jagan government appointed Murali Akurati, a retired IAS officer of the Telangana cadre, as special advisor to the CM on school education. In his petition, Krishna Rao had warned that a hierarchy over the legally constituted official agencies is building up with the creation of special advisors and that it may result in paralysing the administration at the end of the day.

Gali Nagaraja is a freelance journalist who writes on the two Telugu states.

Andhra Pradesh: Will ‘Amma Vodi’ End Up Drawing Kids Away From Govt Schools?

On the face of it, the Andhra Budget for the education sector looks lofty but a closer look reveals that it is anything but a game changer.

Having trounced the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and romping to power with a resounding mandate in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) presented its budget for 2019-20 with much fanfare.

On the face of it, the allocations to the education sector look lofty but a closer look reveals that it is anything but a game changer.

The Amma Vodi scheme, which is one of the nine promises which catapulted the YSRCP to power, makes up nearly one-fifth of the education allocation. The scheme involves a cash transfer of Rs 15,000 to women with school going children, of families with white ration cards. The amount is fixed and does not depend on the number of school going children she has. It applies to mothers of students in both government and private schools, studying from Class 1 to Intermediate or Plus-2 levels.

The scheme has, however, become a bone of contention between the government and the teachers’ unions, who allege this would lead to neglect of government schools. P. Babu Reddy, general secretary of United Teachers Federation, said, “Initially, there was a surge in enrolment of children in government schools, but now some parents are in a dilemma. Private schools have now been luring parents by waiving fees until January 26, 2020, when the cheques are to be distributed to mothers. With some 30,000 teaching posts vacant, can government schools draw students anymore?”

Also read: Budget 2019 Fails to Give Education the Radical Boost it Needs

According to the 2011 Census, illiteracy at the national level is 27% while in Andhra Pradesh, it is 33%. Illiteracy among women in the state is 40%, while nationally it is 35%, as reiterated by finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy in the assembly. Andhra ranks 32nd in literacy among states.

Figures speak for themselves

The minister also made a lofty claim of a 35% increase in the budget for education. But the numbers behind this increase in allocation have a different story to tell. Out of a budget of Rs 2.27 lakh crore, education has received Rs 32,618 crore which is just 14.31%.

This is less than the national average of 15.9% allocated by states and much less than the 26.40%, 19%, 18.5%, 18% and 16.42% allocated by Delhi, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively. The Kothari Commission, it may be recalled, had recommended that 30% of the state budget, 10% of the Central Budget and 6% of the GDP should be apportioned for the education sector.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with state finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, ahead of the budget presentation in the state assembly on July 12. Photo: PTI

Higher education has received Rs 3,021 crore, an increase of just 6.59% from last year’s budget. The allocation for technical education has seen a fall from Rs 818.02 crore to Rs 580.29 crore this year.

Meanwhile, teachers say the allocation to Amma Vodi cannot be considered an “education expense”.

Budget for school education in 2019-20 is Rs 29,772.79 crore, while last year, it was Rs 21,612.30 crore. There may have been an increase of 37.76%, but of this, Rs 6,455.80 crore will go towards the Amma Vodi scheme. Removing this allocation, the increase in budget for education is Rs 1,704.69 crore, a mere 7.89%.

Government schools

Budgetary allocations belie the tall claims about making a change in the education sector in the next two years. The 46,662 government schools in the state have nearly 40 lakh students and have got Rs 1,500 crores for improving amenities.

Many schools lack basic infrastructure like classrooms and furniture apart from teachers.

“A programme similar to Amma Vodi, called School Choice Programme, was launched in USA where in the parents have a choice to admit their wards in a school of their liking. The failure of the scheme in improving standards was brought out in a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research of the US in 2015,” says Ramesh Patnaik, convenor of the Andhra Pradesh Save Education Committee.

Patnaik says that instead of spending upwards of Rs 30,000 on the Amma Vodi scheme in the next five years, if Rs 5,000 crore is spent on amenities in schools and Rs 2,000 crore on salaries of teachers in this time, then good quality education can be provided in government schools. “This would attract children from even middle classes to government schools,” he adds.

Any dent in the government’s education plan affects the girl child more.

This fact is corroborated by the data made available by the Unified District Information on School Education. Data for 2017-18 shows a total of 36,61,075 boys and 33,14,451 girls attended private schools.

However, in schools run by the state government, along with other private-aided schools, have more girl children enrolled. Given that the child sex ratio is 939 girls for 1,000 boys as per the 2011 census, the higher number of girl children in government schools shows that families have opted to send their boys to private schools.

Schemes at rulers’ mercy

Schemes like the Amma Vodi are at the mercy of the incumbent government. An example that can be cited in this context is the YSRCP government winding up the ‘Mukhyamantri Yuvanestham’ scheme launched by TDP months ahead of the assembly polls. The scheme involved disbursal of unemployment allowance to educated youth by the TDP government.

The incumbent government has also refused to honour the debt redemption scheme for farmers which was implemented by the TDP government. The TDP had resolved to waive loans in five phases. The fourth and fifth instalments were left. The YSRCP government has now refused to waive these loans which amounted to Rs 8,853 crore as on March 28, 2019. The farmers now have to face the double whammy of loans and the interest burden that has accrued over the five year period.

Lack of coherent roadmap 

Vitapu Balasubramanyam is an MLC who represents the teacher’s constituency from Prakasam, Nellore and Chittoor districts. He says budgetary allocations have not risen in proportion to the rise in budget. “The budget lacks a vision to improve government schools. It is more interested in benefitting people in monetary terms with a short sighted approach on education.”

Also read | Budget 2019: Bihar Schools Need Systemic Reform, Not Piecemeal Approaches

He says that the mechanism to ensure standards is also failing. “Mandal education officers are not being appointed to keep tabs on teacher absenteeism. With nearly 5,000 teachers being promoted to high schools, there is a dearth of staff at the primary levels,” he says.

Teachers Federation secretary Babu Reddy says that if parents are provided monetary support, they are more likely to shift their children to private schools. “If facilities are improved in government schools in the next two years, as the government claims they will, then this may not occur. Government schools still serve 52% of the kids. We are asking the government to develop these schools. If parents are sending their wards to private schools already, it means they are able to afford those fees. So why give them money now? This scheme is aimed at cementing political fortunes,” he says.

Successive state governments have so far steered clear of implementing the 25% quota for poor students in private schools, as promised by the Right to Education Act. The fee for these kids should be borne by the state exchequer.

After it was implemented in Tamil Nadu, teachers say that nearly 10 lakh students moved away from government schools. Plans by the Andhra government to implement this scheme would provide even more impetus to the private sector. The 2019-20 budget has, however, not made any allocations to this end.

Also read: Glimmers of Hope and Reform in the National Education Policy Draft

Further, the government’s plan to grade schools would only add to the rationale of increasing fees. A committee has been formed to fix school fees and its report will be out in four months. “So we don’t quite know the effects this move would have in this academic year,” said Babu Reddy.

The budget has further allocated Rs 100 crores for ISKCON to build centralised kitchens for supply of mid-day meals. “The food supplied by them is devoid of eggs, which provide much needed protein to poor children. Kids do not enjoy food prepared without ginger and garlic either,” Reddy said.

Recently, in Tadepalli, 20 students were hospitalised vomiting after eating their mid-day meal, amid reports of misappropriation of grains by ISKCON staff.

Questions thus reign supreme on whether the Amma Vodi scheme can succeed to bring any meaningful change in the education sector in Andhra Pradesh.

G. Ram Mohan is a freelance journalist.