TRIBUTE TO YSR

I am probably well qualified to write this tribute to a man I have criticized continuously on these boards.

YSR is definitely a man with a touch with reality. He knew his people well. And he served them without reservation. Anything that is called great is superfluous without comparisons. So I am goig to make a few comparisons on why YSR was different.

The first time I noticed YSR was his Padayatra 2003. He walked and walked. I thought it was like Gandhi traveling in 3rd class in his earlier days. 

YSR came into power into AP that was very significant. Congress lost power to NTR on the stand called "Atma Gouravam". That is NTR said centre under Congress treats Andhra CM as chaprasis. Which was true. I remember traveling in machilipatnam when Chandra Babu was fighting for the second term. Crowds gathered to greet Laxmi parvati and others. I asked some who they would vote for - the answer was uniformly TDP. YSR was fighting against this entrenched bias.

He came into power with a winning formula - to offer free electricity to the farmers. He did that with great ingenuity. He knew exactly what the farmers wanted and what sacrifices they would go through to get it. He gave them free electricity in the mid night when nobody else wanted it! The farmers woke up and lapped it all. That was great compassion, courage to attempt the unthinkable and finally to make it happen. Not that others didnot try some thing - Chandra Babu Naidu formed the farmers, water cooperative to ensure the canals worked well. That was for the people who had access to irrigation. But free electricity to pump water for their fields was for everybody.

Another major hit is the Indramma Housing project. Another unconceivable project. But the poor just lapped it. 

The above two would probably score on the same scale as MSR's midday noon meal scheme for children and possibly NREGA scheme.

He launched many other projects that offered small financial assistance to people where the emotional impact was phenomenal, like scholarships for poor, 

He took the concept of water for all into many other projects and launched many irrigation projects for Telangana. Something that Channa Reddy didnot do, in the early 70s though he became the Chief minister from Telangana to serve Telangana region. 

I am sure many would seen the last Tv interview. He wanted to travel to villages without notice to see if his programs were imple,ented on the ground. No doubt he was a terror to not just officials, but to MLAs and ministers. He has a performance appriasal system for each with a simple metric. Are the people happy in their constituency? Very few have made such direct commitment to the people. 

Every coin has two sides. 

YSR comes from a family that made him a Income tax assesse before he knew how to count. Cuddaph Reddy are reputed to be Feudal. And the whole lot that goes with it. Rayalaseema used to be known for violence, until naxalites and the terrorist made them look like street kids fighting each other.

On the Devil Advocate program, YSR was asked about the thousands of acres of Govt. land he surrendered. He said, nobody told him that they had occupied Govt. land before! So Sekhar continued and asked about 100 odd acres still fenced, to which he said, they are taking care to make sure Govt land is not grabbed!! And further the public was free to use the land since there was gate!!!

YSR has been accused of sanctioning scores of Irrigation projects with just alloting mobilisation funds for them. The mobilisation funds were promptly got back as commissions and people say that the AP state Govt. funds thus collected were used to fund many Congress election campaigns. 

YSR used his time in office well. He worked tirelessly and in the process, he made everyother Congressman in AP look like Pygmies. His opponents were completely clueless - TDP tied up with a disastrous TRS in the 2009 election that can be termed as just short of desperation.

YSR converteed many TDP schemes into Rajiv Gandhi scheme. The most prominent would be EMRI and 108 ambulance service. The e-seav, the govt scheme to allow people to access Govt services easily was renamed Rajiv Gandhi Citizen scheme. The list is unending. Every Pisspot has to be named after rajiv gandhi in AP has been commonly said.

He is an absolute autocrat. I guess that was getting worse. 

When Opposition questioned him on corruption on the floor of the house, he simply told then that People have voted them to power and asked the speaker to move on to the next item on the agenda. And the speaker did. In short he made both the assembly and the CAG meaningless. he wanted committed bureaucracy. 

He used every political situation shrewdly and mercilessly. He used TRS to defaet Chandra Babu Naidu. he dumped them. he used the muslims and planned to dump them in the GHMC election. The list goes on. I guess nobody will shed tear for TRS or the Majhlis. And quite Justifiably too. 

To conclude, often that we need autocratic leaders like YSR to make progress in the hinterland. And there is nobody around to replace him now on the horizon. This is a great loss that cannot be easily filled. We all salute the great leader and his contribution to the state.