Naidu's open letter: Much ado about nothing!

The so-called open letter purported to have been written by Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu to the people of the state from the barracks of Rajahmundry central jail has created an unnecessary debate.

The TDP on Sunday released the open letter printed on a colourful letterhead of the party and the signature was only a printed one.

It was very obvious that the letter was drafted not by Naidu personally, but by some party spokesperson.

Since the signature was not in ink and the letter was in print, there is no way to believe that Naidu had written the letter personally. The party wanted to convey Naidu’s message to the people and it has done it.

Surprisingly, it appears the YSR Congress party and the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has taken the letter seriously, instead of ignoring the same. The jail authorities were compelled to issue a statement stating that it was not written by Naidu in jail.

“No letter is released from jail without their permission and that there was no permission for the one purported to have been written by Naidu,” Jail Superintendent S Rahul said.

As per the prison rules if a prisoner wanted to send a signed letter outside the jail, jail authorities have go through it and only with the jailer’s verification, signature and jail’s stamp, it is sent to the concerned court or any government office or family members, he said.

YSRCP leaders also sought to make it a big issue out of it, saying Naidu had no access to paper and pen in the jail. It also wondered how the letter released by TDP carried Naidu’s signature. So, they said it must be a fake letter.

One wonders why the Jagan government and the YSRC was making so much fuss about the letter. Naidu himself might have instructed either Lokesh or the other party leaders to issue an open letter on his behalf.

“He might have even dictated the contents of the letter. Every day, his lawyers meet him and any one of them might have provided him pen and paper. What matters is whether Naidu tried to convey his feelings to the people or not. Instead of ignoring it like any other statement, why should it be made a big issue?” an analyst argued.