Aggression Okay, But Foul-Mouthing Not!

There is no doubt that YSR Congress party president and Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been getting tremendous response from the people to his ongoing padayatra, even in the so-called strongholds of the Telugu Desam Party.

His aggressive attack on the TDP government and his political moves have given an impression that he has come a long way in displaying his political maturity. But sometimes, his loose tongue will land him in troubles and undo all the goodwill he has achieved so far.

It is essential to have aggression in politics, but abusing the rivals personally does not fetch any political mileage and on the contrary, it might even boomerang.

In this context, the comment made by Jagan on Friday night asking TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to jump into a well so that the state would get rid of Shani does not augur well with the stature of an Opposition leader.

“It will be better if Naidu jumps into a well. At least the Shani (Saturn) that is troubling the state will end,” Jagan said, while criticising the chief minister for failing to secure special category status to AP even after sailing with the NDA for four years.

He went on to ask whether Naidu was rearing donkeys (Gaadidalu kasaava?) for seven months when the Planning Commission was still in existence in 2014 to grant special category status to the state.

Jagan’s foul-mouthing of the chief minister might cheer his party workers and supporters, but it might even turn counter-productive for him.

He seems to have forgotten the fact that Naidu is capable of cashing in on Jagan’s foul language and converting into his political advantage.

One can recall how Jagan’s comments during Nandyal by-elections last year backfired on him. Jagan said then that there was nothing wrong in shooting down Naidu in public in broad day light or hanging him in public.

He even told people several times to throw Naidu and the TDP into Bay of Bengal.

Whenever Jagan made such remarks against Naidu, the latter used them to political advantage and scored brownie points in the elections.