The undemocratic, dictatorial style of Andhra C.M, Jagan Reddy has yet again been criticized by all opposition parties. Jagan, who has become infamous for “banning”, refusing permission to opposition parties for holding rallies, meetings or walkathons had himself used these mediums to interact with the masses and come to power in the last Andhra Pradesh state elections.
Recent stampedes and about a dozen deaths resulting from them at the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) meetings in Nellore and Guntur, have given Jagan Reddy just the excuse he needed to impose a blanket ban on all political gatherings in Andhra Pradesh. The people and all opposition parties ask, why he himself continues to speak at large meetings.
Political observers are of the opinion that Jagan Reddy, who is a chief minister out on bail over as many as 31 pending cases, is extremely nervous about the renewed popularity of Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and the growing presence of Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), both of which look forward to an alliance with the BJP in the state elections scheduled for mid-2024. The previous TDP regime (2014-2019) was in an alliance with the BJP till 2019 when it lost elections to the YSRCP party. Currently, the BJP receives outside support from the incumbent YSRCP party led by Jagan Reddy.
The prohibitory order on public meetings/rallies was issued under sections 30, 30A and 31 of the Police Act, 1861, which calls for regulation of assembly of people and processions on public roads, streets, road margins. Although the right to conduct public meetings is a fundamental right under the Constitution, the state police are also empowered under law to regulate such activity in public interest per the Police Act of 1861. The opposition argues that the archaic Police Act of 1861 created under British Colonial rule, is rarely used in present times as it was clearly enacted before India’s independence with the intent to serve unfair interests of the then British empire.
The recent government order also states that such meetings may be held at alternative locations like public grounds and private places, which the opposition parties argue is not practical and in many locations, impossible, given the massive crowds that the opposition rallies have been attracting since last year. The opposition claims that the state police has not been effective in helping with meeting arrangements and security and that the police department is being deliberately withheld by the autocratic Reddy and his YSRCP government, from discharging their Law & Order duties.
Reddy faced strong opposition and criticism when he went as far as to state that the TDP had deliberately caused the death of meeting attendees. The TDP and other opposition leaders questioned Jagan’s motives, his lack of decency and dared him to prove that his party known for its hooliganism was not behind the stampedes and the resulting deaths. The opposition asks the public to think for themselves logically – which party benefits most from the chaos, lack of police support, stampedes and stampede deaths occurring at an opposition party’s meetings? Certainly not the opposition party. Hence is it possible that Jagan’s party, the ruling party was involved in the unfortunate deaths of eager attendees?
The opposition chided Jagan on his childish, dictatorial, unsportive, revenge-seeking ways and reminded Reddy, that his family including himself were not prevented from their fundamental right to hold public meetings, rallies and walkathons in the past when he was an opposition leader. The opposition also reminded Jagan that there were as many as 8 reported deaths, during their own public meetings back in the 2017-2019 period when Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP was in power. An opposition leader questioned “just because there are road accidents, is road traffic or driving banned?” The BJP is closely watching the tense political situation in A.P and analysing political developments/ trends, while still playing it safe with the ruling YSRCP.
In October 2022, the YSRCP tried to stop a huge political rally in Vishakapatnam and nearby locales by Pawan Kalyan’s JSP party which led to several altercations and a public showdown between Pawan Kalyan and Jagan Reddy. The TDP extended its sympathies and support to the JSP while the BJP tacitly questioned the current Andhra Pradesh government’s law and order irregularities and the politically charged environment in the state. A few days after the altercation between Pawan and Jagan Reddy, Mr. Modi had invited Paaan Kalyan to a brief personal meeting in Vishakapatnam, which set off a series of rumours. Reddy has been on a spree of permission-denials for political meetings of opposition parties, including publicly expressing displeasure at Naidu’s and Pawan’s rallies/ meetings, to which it is reported that large numbers of people show up, without monetary incentives. Is this a possible indication of the rising sympathy and support for Andhra’s opposition parties among the people? This is said to be making Jagan Reddy anxious for his politcal future as well as his personal predicament if the numerous CBI cases against him, come back to haunt him, if and when he is no longer in power.
It is widely rumoured that the Andhra Pradesh police department is completely under the dictatorial control of YS Jagan Reddy and the YSRCP party’s senior leaders and that the police are instructed and deliberately prevented from doing their jobs during meetings held by opposition leaders. The general public is of the opinion that the two stampedes at the TDP’s meetings in Nellore and Guntur and the unfortunate deaths (8 and 3 respectively) could have been avoided if the local police had been allowed to do their jobs in the first place. The opposition parties and their supporters speculate the strange, uncommon instance of stampede deaths at an opposition rally within 4 days of each other (December 28, 2022 in Nellore and January 1, 2023 in Guntur), which they claim is fishy and suspect to be the sinister work of Jagan’s YSRCP party, in a bid to bring negative publicity to the opposition parties (TDP, JSP, BJP, CPI), which are all sympathetic to one another, claiming severe abuse of power and financial resources and the deteriorating law & order situation in Andhra under Reddy’s autocratic rule.
The TDP and JSP parties have consistently said that their crowd-pulling rallies are an indication of the people’s displeasure and loss of trust in the mis-rule of the YSRCP party and Jagan’s arrogance. YS Jagan Reddy’s stepped up ante against his opponents over their apparent success at being able to draw large crowds to their meetings, displays his nervousness around losing support from the common people and the lower classes whom he thinks will continue to be attracted to his numerous free/ welfare schemes and free money deposited into their accounts.
Will Jagan Reddy’s large variety of sops, his irresponsible, financially draining, free “welfare” schemes, continue to bring him the votes regardless of his performance and the state’s poor management? The answer to this question will be revealed in Andhra’s 2024 elections. In the meanwhile, all opposition parties are impacted by the current Andhra Pradesh government’s order of banning all meetings, rallies and padayatras (walkathons). Will a united opposition come together to fight the unreasonable blanket ban on public meetings and approach the courts for relief? The next 2-6 weeks may likely reveal the opposition’s response and strategy to the denial of their fundamental right to hold meetings with the necessary permissions and with duly assigned police assistance.
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Is Jagan Jittered?
The undemocratic, dictatorial style of Andhra C.M, Jagan Reddy has yet again been criticized by all opposition parties. Jagan, who has become infamous for “banning”, refusing permission to opposition parties for holding rallies, meetings or walkathons had himself used these mediums to interact with the masses and come to power in the last Andhra Pradesh state elections.
Recent stampedes and about a dozen deaths resulting from them at the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) meetings in Nellore and Guntur, have given Jagan Reddy just the excuse he needed to impose a blanket ban on all political gatherings in Andhra Pradesh. The people and all opposition parties ask, why he himself continues to speak at large meetings.
Political observers are of the opinion that Jagan Reddy, who is a chief minister out on bail over as many as 31 pending cases, is extremely nervous about the renewed popularity of Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and the growing presence of Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), both of which look forward to an alliance with the BJP in the state elections scheduled for mid-2024. The previous TDP regime (2014-2019) was in an alliance with the BJP till 2019 when it lost elections to the YSRCP party. Currently, the BJP receives outside support from the incumbent YSRCP party led by Jagan Reddy.
The prohibitory order on public meetings/rallies was issued under sections 30, 30A and 31 of the Police Act, 1861, which calls for regulation of assembly of people and processions on public roads, streets, road margins. Although the right to conduct public meetings is a fundamental right under the Constitution, the state police are also empowered under law to regulate such activity in public interest per the Police Act of 1861. The opposition argues that the archaic Police Act of 1861 created under British Colonial rule, is rarely used in present times as it was clearly enacted before India’s independence with the intent to serve unfair interests of the then British empire.
The recent government order also states that such meetings may be held at alternative locations like public grounds and private places, which the opposition parties argue is not practical and in many locations, impossible, given the massive crowds that the opposition rallies have been attracting since last year. The opposition claims that the state police has not been effective in helping with meeting arrangements and security and that the police department is being deliberately withheld by the autocratic Reddy and his YSRCP government, from discharging their Law & Order duties.
Reddy faced strong opposition and criticism when he went as far as to state that the TDP had deliberately caused the death of meeting attendees. The TDP and other opposition leaders questioned Jagan’s motives, his lack of decency and dared him to prove that his party known for its hooliganism was not behind the stampedes and the resulting deaths. The opposition asks the public to think for themselves logically – which party benefits most from the chaos, lack of police support, stampedes and stampede deaths occurring at an opposition party’s meetings? Certainly not the opposition party. Hence is it possible that Jagan’s party, the ruling party was involved in the unfortunate deaths of eager attendees?
The opposition chided Jagan on his childish, dictatorial, unsportive, revenge-seeking ways and reminded Reddy, that his family including himself were not prevented from their fundamental right to hold public meetings, rallies and walkathons in the past when he was an opposition leader. The opposition also reminded Jagan that there were as many as 8 reported deaths, during their own public meetings back in the 2017-2019 period when Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP was in power. An opposition leader questioned “just because there are road accidents, is road traffic or driving banned?” The BJP is closely watching the tense political situation in A.P and analysing political developments/ trends, while still playing it safe with the ruling YSRCP.
In October 2022, the YSRCP tried to stop a huge political rally in Vishakapatnam and nearby locales by Pawan Kalyan’s JSP party which led to several altercations and a public showdown between Pawan Kalyan and Jagan Reddy. The TDP extended its sympathies and support to the JSP while the BJP tacitly questioned the current Andhra Pradesh government’s law and order irregularities and the politically charged environment in the state. A few days after the altercation between Pawan and Jagan Reddy, Mr. Modi had invited Paaan Kalyan to a brief personal meeting in Vishakapatnam, which set off a series of rumours. Reddy has been on a spree of permission-denials for political meetings of opposition parties, including publicly expressing displeasure at Naidu’s and Pawan’s rallies/ meetings, to which it is reported that large numbers of people show up, without monetary incentives. Is this a possible indication of the rising sympathy and support for Andhra’s opposition parties among the people? This is said to be making Jagan Reddy anxious for his politcal future as well as his personal predicament if the numerous CBI cases against him, come back to haunt him, if and when he is no longer in power.
It is widely rumoured that the Andhra Pradesh police department is completely under the dictatorial control of YS Jagan Reddy and the YSRCP party’s senior leaders and that the police are instructed and deliberately prevented from doing their jobs during meetings held by opposition leaders. The general public is of the opinion that the two stampedes at the TDP’s meetings in Nellore and Guntur and the unfortunate deaths (8 and 3 respectively) could have been avoided if the local police had been allowed to do their jobs in the first place. The opposition parties and their supporters speculate the strange, uncommon instance of stampede deaths at an opposition rally within 4 days of each other (December 28, 2022 in Nellore and January 1, 2023 in Guntur), which they claim is fishy and suspect to be the sinister work of Jagan’s YSRCP party, in a bid to bring negative publicity to the opposition parties (TDP, JSP, BJP, CPI), which are all sympathetic to one another, claiming severe abuse of power and financial resources and the deteriorating law & order situation in Andhra under Reddy’s autocratic rule.
The TDP and JSP parties have consistently said that their crowd-pulling rallies are an indication of the people’s displeasure and loss of trust in the mis-rule of the YSRCP party and Jagan’s arrogance. YS Jagan Reddy’s stepped up ante against his opponents over their apparent success at being able to draw large crowds to their meetings, displays his nervousness around losing support from the common people and the lower classes whom he thinks will continue to be attracted to his numerous free/ welfare schemes and free money deposited into their accounts.
Will Jagan Reddy’s large variety of sops, his irresponsible, financially draining, free “welfare” schemes, continue to bring him the votes regardless of his performance and the state’s poor management? The answer to this question will be revealed in Andhra’s 2024 elections. In the meanwhile, all opposition parties are impacted by the current Andhra Pradesh government’s order of banning all meetings, rallies and padayatras (walkathons). Will a united opposition come together to fight the unreasonable blanket ban on public meetings and approach the courts for relief? The next 2-6 weeks may likely reveal the opposition’s response and strategy to the denial of their fundamental right to hold meetings with the necessary permissions and with duly assigned police assistance.
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