It was a week of high dramas, shocks, surprises and scandals in Andhra Pradesh that made big news across the country.
To start with, it was the high drama by the Telugu Desam Party leaders led by its president N Chandrababu Naidu, who went to Maharashtra to visit the controversial Babli irrigation project and were arrested by the police there last week. The week started with a state-wide bandh called by the TDP leaders, which evoked partial response.
Realising that the arrest and the bandh had not created any sensational news, Naidu and his team made a hue and cry over their detention and shifting to Aurangabad jail. They cried from the roof tops that they were beaten up black and blue by the Maharashtra police and sent the “images” to the media in Hyderabad. For obvious reasons, the alleged “inhuman” treatment of the TDP leaders by the Maharashtra police became a national news; forcing the Congress high command to intervene and see that the cases against Naidu and his team were withdrawn. Yet, they tried to create a scene at the Aurangabad airport, from where they were sent back to Hyderabad without their objective of seeing the Babli project being achieved.
The incident, in fact, was an anti-climax for Naidu, as reports indicate it has not created any major impact on the TDP’s prospects in the Telangana byelections. That the TDP wanted to gain only political mileage and not a solution to the problem was evident from the way the party boycotted the all-party meeting convened by chief minister K Rosaiah on Friday.
The shock of the week was for Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in more than one way. Though it started of well for Jagan with AICC in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily declaring that there would be no action against him for taking out Odarpu Yatra, within a couple of days, he had received a rude jolt from the Congress high command which suspended his close aide Ambati Rambabu for his “anti-party activities.” And it had a lot of impact on the pro-Jagan MLAs and ministers, who initially showed a lot of enthusiasm to join the yatra, but had to back out following the suspension of Ambati by the high command, who was obviously angry with his belligerent attitude.
Jagan reacted strongly over the suspension, but had no other option but to keep quiet since he has realized that not many MLAs or MPs are joining him in revolting against the high command. On the other hand, the pro-Jagan MLAs also received a surprise invitation from AICC general secretary and Sonia’s son Rahul Gandhi who indirectly conveyed the message to them that there is a high command in New Delhi and not in Kadapa.
And the week ended on a further sour note for Jagan, as the Rosaiah government wrote to the center seeking cancellation of lease given to Rakshna Steels (having benami investments of YSR’s son-in-law Anil Kumar) for mining of iron ore at Bayyaram in Khammam district.
And the scandal of the week was the shocking rape of a 16-year old girl studying in Parkwood International School on the city outskirts by school director Mohd Salahuddin Ayub. The incident came to light when the girl lodged a complaint with the police stating that she was raped several times by the school director and she had become pregnant also. Ayub is now cooling his heels in the jail under judicial custody.
