The
government should stop slandering political opponents and focus on honouring
pre-election commitments.
POLITICS | 5-minute read | 06-06-2017
When the creation of Telangana was
announced in July 2013, I was in transit for the night in Hyderabad as I
proceeded to Pune for some personal work. Not wanting to shell out a lot of
money just for a few hours of rest and remain in proximity to the Begumpet
station, I chose to stay at a nondescript "working men’s hostel" that
provided a bed and food for cheap.
As the news broke I felt a sense of
confusion, as I was a proponent of united Andhra. Nevertheless, I wasn’t too
surprised because in the preceding election of 2009, the TRS and TDP were part
of the grand alliance.
As I went to bed that night, I felt
that common daily life would not be affected and there would be assurances for
the residual state of Andhra Pradesh. Most parties had come to an apparent
consensus over Telangana (both TDP and YSRCP had written letters supporting the
creating of Telangana).
I completely misread the situation
because almost immediately there were protests and a clear rift emerged within
most political parties based in the region. I felt this too shall pass with
time. However, there was sustained media coverage and emotions were whipped up.
I admit that I fell prey to the
rhetoric, as my initial feeling of indifference soon morphed into rage and a
sense of profound injustice. The media instead of posing questions to the
political parties over the doublespeak, settled for sensationalism, which
further stoked the cinders of hatred.
In the next one year, which led up
to the general (and state) elections of 2014, there was acrimony across the
residual state and regular life came to a halt. The continued reporting about
disturbances and arson by miscreants only sustained an atmosphere of political
psychosis, where people didn’t realise that the protesting parties had
consented to bifurcation, implicitly and explicitly.
During campaign for the 2014 election, both BJP and TDP leaders, including Narendra Modi, Venkaiah Naidu and Chandrababu Naidu, promised to accord Andhra Pradesh special category status.
When the TDP takes credit for
creating Telangana, on what grounds do they "blame" the Congress for
bifurcation? Photo: India Today
As I listened to the galaxy of
leaders reiterate their resolve to continue fighting for the cause of Andhra Pradesh,
I received a text from my friend asking how the meeting was progressing. When I
informed him that the ground was brimming with people in rapt attention, he
seemed perplexed because he had been informed by the TV channels that only a
small trickle of people attended the event. Moreover, many channels showed the
black flag protests led by TDP activists that demanded that Rahul Gandhi go
back. The protesters alleged that he was responsible for the bifurcation of the
state.
While the media should remain
neutral and report objectively, they should also learn to pose questions to
politicians. Not one channel questioned the double standards of the TDP with
regard to Telangana, both at the time of bifurcation and during the black flag
protests on June 4.
While Chandrababu Naidu claimed in
Telangana that it was with his support that the new state became a reality, in
Andhra Pradesh he projected the bifurcation onto the Congress. None in the
media appeared courageous enough to pin down the TDP and seek answers for the
acute political schizophrenia they appeared to suffer from.
As a common citizen, I seek answers
for the following pertinent questions the media refuses to ask the government:
1) When the TDP was in alliance
with the TRS in 2009, wasn’t it implicit that they supported the creation of
Telangana, given that that was the raison d’etre of the TRS? When the TDP takes
credit for creating Telangana, on what grounds do they "blame" the
Congress for bifurcation?
2) Did the BJP and TDP not know
before the election that Andhra Pradesh was not eligible for being accorded
special category status? Are there any recent developments in the state so
drastic that they had to change their stand on the issue? Both the BJP and TDP
stated that the special category status is cardinal for the progress of the
state. Hence, is it not their duty to ensure Andhra Pradesh is given its due?
Why the stepmotherly treatment?
The recent developments make me
recall a quote attributed to Malcolm X - If you’re not careful, the newspapers
will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people
who are doing the oppressing!
Unlike in 2014, I refuse to be
carried away by the rhetoric of the media and seek answers from the government.
The government should stop slandering their political opponents and focus on
honouring their pre-election commitments.
In our obsession with facts, let’s
not lose track of the truth - there is a concerted effort to stifle dissent and
curb citizens from asking difficult questions!
Source: dailyo
