Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Tuesday that an attack on any YSRCP worker would be treated as an attack on himself and warned that police officials responsible for injustice would be held accountable even after retirement.
He told police officials that they are not working for Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu but under the Constitution. They must remember the three lions on their caps and their constitutional oath, he said.
He was addressing party cadres in his home constituency, Pulivendula in YSR Kadapa district, ahead of local body elections.
The YSRCP chief slammed the ruling coalition for its unfair conduct of elections on an uneven playing field and affirmed that the government is resorting to such undemocratic tactics as it has failed to fulfil poll promises and is scared of polls.
The former Chief Minister said elections should be held on a level playing field where all players should be given equal opportunity, unlike the ongoing local body elections which are rigged by misusing official machinery and preventing the Opposition from filing nomination papers.
He remarked that arrests, cases and harassment are nothing new to YSRCP. The party was born in Opposition and overcame every difficulty with public support, he said.
YS Jagan said every household was discussing the difference between YS Jagan’s governance and Chandrababu’s rule, and people would give their verdict in the coming elections.
“Three years have passed. Only two years remain. After that comes YS Jagan 2.0. If YS Jagan is one, the party worker is two,” he said.
He told the party cadres that their problems were his own. He stated that Pulivendula stood by him like family after his father’s death and that his support had taken him to the office of Chief Minister.
“Pulivendula would become the starting point of a statewide movement to protect Democracy,” he said and announced that he would return a day before polling and personally cast his vote on polling day. He called on people to stand courageously and ensure voters were free to express their verdict.
Likening Chandrababu Naidu to the Sakuni character in the Mahabharata, who deceives opponents by rolling the magical dice to eke out a fake victory, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that when the nomination process itself is held under unfair practices, how the sanctity of results and democratic principles remain.
YS Jagan said the State had earlier heard of booth rigging, but Chandrababu had now taken it to “nomination rigging” by occupying nomination centres and preventing candidates from filing papers.
“You contest, I contest, and whoever receives the people’s vote should win. That is Democracy. Preventing opponents from contesting and then claiming victory is shameful.”
The YSRCP chief said the coalition was celebrating 17 Urban Local Bodies going into its account, with 15 Chairperson posts for TDP, one for Jana Sena and one for BJP, and boasting that 21 per cent of the 2,108 wards were unanimous.
“Victories secured by denying opponents the opportunity to contest cannot be called genuine. There is nothing to celebrate in claims that six municipalities, including those in YSR district, have gone to the coalition,” he said and challenged Chandrababu to face a genuine contest.
He pointed out that in Pulivendula, nominations could be filed in only 20 of 40 wards. Of seven ZPTC seats, contests were allowed in only four. Nomination papers were snatched and torn, while others were rejected during scrutiny.
“Candidates seeking permission to file nominations were lathi-charged. Police fired 37 rounds, injuring two persons in the legs. Twenty stun shells, 40 smoke shells and seven hand grenades were used. Was filing a nomination their only crime?” he asked.
YS Jagan claimed that attempt-to-murder cases were registered against 924 people in Pulivendula after police fired on YSRCP workers.
He alleged that even after Supreme Court directions, there has been no change in Chandrababu, the SEC, collectors, or SPs. In Kadapa district, contests were prevented in 17 of 39 ZPTC seats. Candidates were not allowed to file nominations in six places, while nominations in another 11 places were rejected after midnight in the name of scrutiny.
YS Jagan called upon party workers to rise against the injustice and said the movement to protect Democracy should begin in Pulivendula and spread across the State. Though YSRCP was restricted to contests in only 20 wards and four ZPTC seats, the fight would continue, he added.
