Kapu Reservation movement leader Mudragada Padmanabham issued ultimatum to chief minister to implement all the assurances he had given to him at the time calling of his fast. He set March 10 as deadline for chief minister to prove his commitment to Kapu cause in writing lest he would go on fast unto death again from March 11,2016.
He warned the government against attempting to foil the fast. ” If you (the CM tries to scuttle the fast) we have two alternatives to carry forward the movement,” he said. He asked the CM not to forget that TDP had come to power because of Kapu voted for the party.
This time, with the gap between CM Chandrababu Naidu and him growing wider, the Kapu leader also extended his politics beyond Kapu reservations. For the first time, he questioned the logic behind acquiring the 33,000 acres for the construction of capital city.
” Where is the need for collecting 33,000 acres of land from the farmers in the name of capital. Lands were snatched from the farmers at gun point,” he alleged and opposed acquisition of 30,000 acres for Bandar port.
Mudragada addressed media at his residence in Kirlampudi to deny TDP’s charge that he was working at the behest of YSRCP leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy. The Kapu leader alleged that his phone and the phones of his followers were being tapped by the government. He challenged the CM to prove his connections with Jagan and quit politics if failed to prove it. He asked the CM to stop his “mad talk”. He said he did have cordial relations with Jagan’s father but he was not in position to take instructions from a ‘boy’.
The kapu leader wondered as to how the government resorts to counter attack when he questioned about the injustice being done to his jati. He accused CM Chandrababu Naidu of using caste for political ends.
“The lies don’t become truth just because you are in power and launching counter attack. Wasn’t it you who promoted caste in politics. It was you who dragged Kapus on to the road by offering reservations to the Kapus,” he said adding that the Kapus were not demanding anything new.
“We want you to implement whatever you had promised. Reservations for Kapus is not charity from the government. It’s Kapu’s right,” Mudragada asserted.
He also alleged that interests of yellow shirts ( an euphemism for members for ruling party) were alone taken care of, he said, without any discrimination, Kapu corporation loans should be extended to all those whoever applied for the assistance. He recalled the assurances given by the CM.
*Immediate release of Rs 500 crore no dearth of funds everybody can apply
*Rs 1000 crore budget allocation every year
*No harassment and booking of cases until thorough investigation into the Tuni violence is made, and
* Manjunath commission will submit report in 9 months.
I believed in the CM on these assurances . But, he has unleashed other leaders to attack me after the calling off of the fast.
Meanwhile, TDP leaders Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu and Bonda Uma, minister Ravela Kishore Babu took strong objection to the Mudragada criticism of government. They asked why Mudragada had been silent on reservations for ten years when Congress was in power between 2004 and 2014. They accused Mudragada of joining hands with Jaganmohan Reddy. ” Mudragada is implementing Jagan’s dark agenda”.
