By J R Janumpalli
The Congress Party seems to be suffering from election mania. It had less than sanguine performance in 2011 assembly elections and the near rout in 2012 assembly elections. In the by elections in the state in 2010 and in 2012, the party was roundly trounced. The results have categorically indicated how popular this UPA and Congress governments are at the centre and in the state of A.P. Yet, Congress party seems to have not learnt any lessons from the defeats. They do not think that it is an indictment of their Government policy and the quality of governance. They still believe in the micro management of elections with money and muscle.
On the front of governance, the parliamentary democracy has taken a severe beating in UPA-II. The PM has become a ‘hand maiden’ to UPA chair person and the cabinet a bunch of puppets. Virtually UPA Chair person is a ‘defacto’ monarch and her coterie is the real government. The political-money-mafia of different states is the clientele of this coterie. They together decide the government policy and projects. Recycle the public money earned there on, for mutual benefit. They feather their own nests nicely and spend money in elections for further predation.
A.P. is one of the premier states in this kind of money sharing. There are several scams and scandals like OMC, EMMAR, Lanco Hills, Lanco Power, National Highway projects, Jalayagnam etc., to quote some. It is a public knowledge now, how authentic these projects are? C & A General reports have commented copiously on the misdeeds in these government projects. The government itself has ordered CBI enquiry in to some of these Projects, albeit, selectively for obvious reasons. For example OMC and Emmar Properties, which were grounded in the time of YSR with all its attendant maladies. But now the Congress party is trying to show YSR as visionary and Jagan as the culprit. There are several such frauds at national and state level perpetrated by our Grand Old Party. Some of them have come in to the open and are being prosecuted in the courts.
We are in a democracy. Though functioning of the government has become bad, the conduct of elections is being done democratically enough. Although public money is recycled abundantly in to the elections, there are people who are level headed and democratic. Many a time election results project a careful reaction to the policy and functioning of the government. The elections that took place after 2009, show these reactions in varying degrees of disapproval of the present government both at the centre and in the state. Yet, without responding to the verdict of people, as usual the Congress Party wants to rush headlong in to elections and use their money and muscle to win them.
Both Central and State governments are very callous to the agitation on Telangana statehood. Telangana people did everything including defeating Congress decisively in the two by elections, for the demerger of the state. Yet, both the governments in collusion are thwarting it with political manipulations, use of brute police force and other draconian measures continuously for the last three years. In fact the single point agenda for Kiran Kumar Reddy government was suppression of ‘Telangana Udyamam’ by foul or by fair means. The Kiran and Azad combine have used only foul means this far and continue to use the same. Even after the recent by-elections, the Congress Party which is ruling the state by remote control by the coterie through its proxy ‘AZAD’ has not changed its tack. They say winning and losing elections is a routine, one should not attach much importance to it. Neither CM nor PCC president are responsible for the defeat. The derogatory remarks of some state congress leaders after the elections have again started a spate of suicides in the region and are happening even now. But, Sonia Gandhi ‘the monarch’ is not moved. In the privy, she is angry that, Kiran and Azad combine could not suppress Telangana movement and lost the by elections. Especially Mahabubnagar and Kovvuru results are needling her more.
Now without analyzing the reasons for the defeat and respond to the opinion of the people, she is again embarking on the next bout of elections in the state. Unlike in Telangana these by elections (except one in Parkal) will focus on the governance, functioning of the state government and the Jagan factor. Sri KKR except concentrating on trying to stifle Telangana Udyamam, he has nothing to show for his performance. On the farm front Kiran Kumar Reddy was a dismal failure. The wasted spending on Jalayagnam and bad management of power and the present tariff hike are the results of his incompetence. His inability to reimburse the student’s fee to the colleges is another glaring example. His liquor imbroglio, The fiasco of ‘Rajeev Yuva kiranalu’, red sanders scam, RTC losses, CAG indictments and short fall in the revenue recovery etc., speak volumes of the governance of Congress party in the state. It was the result of unethical obsession of state government in trying to suppress most popular and legitimate agitation of 4 crore Telangana people. Allowing the agitation for a longtime with out addressing the problem, with a view to stifle the spirit of Telangana Udyamam has its devastating effect on the economy of the state. The insufferable power Tariff hike, the precarious financial position of the state are the result of this.
The CM, the PCC President, the DCM, the Cabinet have never worked as a team in the governance of the state, except in the repression of Telangana. There also they have failed miserably. If these coterie and proxy governments forget what is good for the people and try to implement their own egocentric agenda, the result would be definitely antagonistic to them as it was in the earlier elections. The unholy fervor by congress party for the coming by-elections will meet the same fate.It could well be the ‘waterloo’ for congress party in the state. It is like ‘as you sow, so you reap’.