http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2091362/Maya-bug-bites-Andhra-Pradesh-parties-fight-statue-wars.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Maya bug bites Andhra Pradesh as parties fight statue wars
By A. Srinivasa Rao
Last updated at 1:06 AM on 25th January 2012
As the controversy over installation of the statues of Uttar Pradesh
chief minister Mayawati and her party's election symbol elephant in
every nook and corner of the state is still raging, a similar
controversy has erupted in Andhra Pradesh, too.
And it is all set to snowball into a major election issue by 2014. One
may call it the height of sycophancy or fanaticism, frenzied fans of
former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy have been on a statue
installation spree across the state, ostensibly to please his son, YSR
Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy who has been on his
Odarpu Yatra (tour to console bereaved families).
The installation of statues of YSR has been an excellent opportunity
for Jagan to address the gatherings and gain their sympathy.
Controversy: YSR congress leaders claim the statues are being erected
by local people by pooling up contributions
Controversy: YSR congress leaders claim the statues are being erected
by local people by pooling up contributions
In fact, during his yatra, Jagan is spending more time in unveiling
the statues at all the places and addressing public gatherings, than
in consoling the families of those who had allegedly died of shock or
committed suicide after the death of his father.
While YSR Congress party leaders claim that the statues are being
erected by the local people by pooling up contributions, Jagan's
detractors in the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party say the funding
for statue installation was being done by Jagan himself.
According to a source in the Congress, Jagan supporters plan to erect
not less than 30,000 statues across the length and breadth of the
state and half the number of statues had already been installed in the
last couple of years.
'Assuming that the average cost of the statue is around Rs 50,000, the
total expenditure being incurred on YSR statues alone could be
anywhere between Rs 150 crore to Rs 160 crore," the source said.
At many places, Jagan's followers did not bother to take the
permission from either the local revenue authorities or the police.
And when authorities tried to stall the statue installation at a few
places, the Jagan supporters created a ruckus for humiliating the
former CM.
Chief Minister Mayawati and her party's elephant symbol have filled
large parts of Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Mayawati and her party's elephant symbol have filled
large parts of Uttar Pradesh
The installation of YSR statues across the state is obviously an
attempt by Jagan to see that the people would not forget his father,
so that it would fetch political mileage for him in the next
elections.
Apparently realising the importance of statues in turning the public
mind in his party's favour, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is
planning to revive the spirit of his father-in-law and legendary actor
N T Rama Rao by embarking on installation of the latter's statues.
He has brought in NTR's son and popular hero Nandamuri Balakrishna to
take up a state-wide tour on the lines of Jagan, unveil the statues of
NTR and address public gatherings.
For the last one week, Balakrishna has been conducting road shows in
the coastal Andhra districts and unveiling NTR's statues.
Ironically, the TDP president has threatened that if it comes topower,
he would order demolition of YSR statues wherever they were erected
without permission.
'If Jagan goes ahead with indiscriminate installation of YSR statues,
we, too, can install one lakh NTR statues in all parts of the state,'
Naidu declared, triggering protests from YSR Congress party leaders
and also YSR followers in the Congress.
'If this statue installation spree continues, one might not find the
statue of Mahatma Gandhi or that of Ambedkar in the state in the
coming days,' a senior Congress leader lamented.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2091362/Maya-bug-bites-Andhra-Pradesh-parties-fight-statue-wars.html#ixzz1kS6yrCE0
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