Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy sustained a minor injury during his campaign last night. While the assailant is yet to be identified, the political blame game has already begun. While the ruling YSRCP launched a sharp attack on opposition leader Chandra Babu Naidu and his party TDP & alliance partner Janasena, the opposition leaders too are retorting very sharply accusing the CM of launching a political drama aka Kodikathi 2.0.
The unknown assailant threw a stone at CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy while he was greeting public from atop his campaign bus at Ajith Singh Nagar, NTR district on Saturday night. Despite the attack, CM YS Jagan was seen waving to public before the security officials took him inside the bus and was given first aid to the injury above his left eyebrow. The injury measured about a centimeter. YSRCP MLA Vellampalli Srinivas also sustained an injury in the attack. While the police are still scouring the CCTV footage to get clues on the assailant, it is being speculated that a catapult was used to hit the CM with precision.
CM YS Jagan was immediately shifted to Vijayawada Government hospital where he was treated and his team released a statement that the Siddam yatra will be suspended on Sunday, as the doctors advised a complete bedrest. According to Dr Venakatesh, superintendent of GGH, CM YS Jagan will recover in a couple of days and they put two stitches to the injury.
Security Lapse Being Questioned
While the injury isn’t that grave, what is being questioned is the absolute lapse in the CM’s security. It is protocol to ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply in the surrounding areas of the CM’s public meetings. And even if there is a sudden electric failure, the security has to ensure that there are battery-powered lights around the area to ensure any untoward incident doesn’t happen. But from the videos that have been released since the incident, it looks like the security didn’t take any such measures. They should not have allowed the yatra to go through an area which was devoid of power or alternative source of light. Also, from the videos, it is clear that the security acted really unfazed despite an attack on the CM. There was no immediate cover that was provided to the CM by the security and they even seem to have taken their time to even move the CM into the bus. To everyone’s surprise the security team was seen bending on their knees instead of forming a protective shield around the CM. Clearly, there were no stone guards that have been set up to ensure such events don’t happen, especially after people flung chappals at the CM during his yatra in Anantapur. Also, as per the protocol, when such untoward incidents happen, the CMs security is supposed to shift him immediately to a bulletproof car, which was not followed in this case.
Kodikathi 2.0
While, TDP supremo released a statement condemning the attack and wishing a speedy recovery to YS Jagan, other leaders from his party are not minicing words. Many leaders launched a sharp attack on YS Jagan accusing him of launching Kodikathi 2.0. On 25th October 2019, Jagan was stabbed with a kodikathi (traditional cockfight knife) at the Vishakapatnam Airport. The attacker, J Sriniav Rao later claimed that he a fan of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Jagan, sustained a bleeding injury to his left shoulder and those images dictated the 2019 election narrative. Back then, the YSRCP called it a murder attempt on Jagan by the TDP as they couldn’t contain the growing popularity and wanted to eliminate him completely. They called it a serious lapse in security as TDP was in power then. While sympathy grew for Jagan after the incident and he went on to become the CM, the assailant, there is zero progress in the case.
Last night too, the YSRCP leadership and the cadre didn’t waste time and jumped straight into dharnas with posters of Chandra Babu Naidu, Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan accusing them of the attack.
Messages Pour-In for Jagan
Prime Minister Narendra tweeted immediately after the incident and wished YS Jagan a speedy recovery. “I pray for the speedy recovery and good health of AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy” (sic). Neighbouring Tamil Nadu state CM Stalin, Telangana BRS working president KTR, former minister Harish Rao and others too took to ‘X’ (twitter) to send in their wishes.
