Special Category status, Vishaka Railway Zone, Special package for Uttarandhra and Rayalaseema, Kadapa Steel Plant, Vijayawada Metro Rail among others – we diligently keep a track of the promises that the Central government has backtracked. Two years after elections, instead of special status the centre announced special package which is not yet realised only adding to the already mugged assurances.
Venkaiah Naidu who asked for special status, when the reorganisation bill was being put up in Rajyasabha, was side-lined and now remains as a spectator of many such false promises being made in the same upper house.
Narendra Modi who pledged to implement reorganisation promises extends step-motherly treatment to the state. Chandrababu Naidu as a well-mannered son adjusts and endures this rough behaviour by ally BJP. Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy tries to befriend Modi while Pawan Kalyan tries to defend Naidu by targeting BJP. In this old-fashioned story, the one who is being deprived of their rightful share are the people. In democracy people have right to fight against government which the Tamilians have demonstrated by uniting against ban on Jallikattu, NEET exam or the latest Vijay’s Mersal movie.
While the followers of the Telugu actors/leaders wage fan wars on who is great, the entire Tamil Nadu film industry took a stand for one actor’s movie to preserve Tamil Pride. This industry has been breaking precedents. It keeps coming forward every time they see that their people need to be heard louder than ever, especially when there is no recognisable effort from the politicians. Former Chief Minister O Pannerselvam went to New Delhi and held discussions to revoke ban against Jallikattu. When people have united, even the AIADMK had to bow. Andhra Pradesh needs such kind of unity for a lot of changes.
Taking inspiration from the Tamil counterparts, youth of Andhra Pradesh tried to protest on Republic day. Unlike OPS, Chandrababu the obedient son curtailed the protest by implementing section144 of CrPC and deploying police against the people who voted for him. Only Jagan could make it to Vishakapatnam airport. Apparently, being the opposition leader of the state instead of staying close to people, he had to travel all the way from another state. Then there was Pawan Kalyan who was tweeting. What can youngsters or people do when these leaders neither unite nor want people to unite for the sake of the state.
Moreover, the members of parliament from Andhra Pradesh are unnoticed and are merely spectators. Many issues are overlooked at national level due to uninspiring leadership skills of aforementioned three prominent faces who are also acting as hand-in-glove. The disrupted unity has already caused a lot of damage. It would be beneficial if people could start counting on the leaders instead of counting the number of promises that did not materialize.
