The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : On a promising spree

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Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

On a promising spree

Confusion reigns supreme, as political parties keep coming out with lists of new promises in a rather competitive manner. The ordinary voter is obviously mesmerised with the eloquent promises, but there seems to be a level playing field as almost all major political parties compete in coining new slogans on their promises. The latest promise is TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu’s rhetoric on free power to poor families. Following his statements, the party leaders down the line have started highlighting this in their meetings. The TDP city leaders raise this in their padayatras and say that 50 units of power will be given free to households of the poor. Amid this din during TDP padayatra, an old man living near Saibaba Temple said all parties were making promises on an equal plane and, surely, this would not have any impact on people, as they would ultimately be considering overall performances of respective parties.

Firm in the ‘back row’

Most politicians scurry for the front row in a press conference, so that they are seen prominently in television channels. But Krishna Zilla Parishad Chairman Kukkala Nageswara Rao is one person, who knows the benefit of sitting in the back row. Mr. Rao sat in the back row at a press conference addressed by Minister for Major Irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah. He stayed put even though Minister for Municipal Administration Koneru Ranga Rao asked him repeatedly to come to the front row. Kankipadu MLA Devineni Rajasekhar had to explain to the Minister why the ZP Chairman prefers sitting in the back row. “Everyone will see him because he is sitting behind the primary speaker (Lakshmaiah). None of us can be seen on TV though we are sitting in the front row,” he said.

In the dark

Sensing trouble at the opening of tenders for new excise licences organised at the Collector’s office in Machilipatnam on Monday, a large contingent of scribes descended on the venue to cover the event. The bidding for liquor shop licences assumed significance in view of the threat by the Telugu Mahila leaders to disrupt the process. Even as the reporters settled in the front row not to miss out on any possible drama unfolding at the auction hall, the Collector walked in and asked the scribes to leave. Brushing aside requests by a few local reporters, who cited absence of the public relations officer from the State Information Centre as yet another reason for their presence, she promised to summon a PRO and ensure that the information reached the Press at regular intervals. The PRO concerned, when contacted, said he would convey the final picture by evening, which never happened. The reporters had to remain satisfied by covering the protests staged by TDP and Lok Satta.

(G. Ravikiran,

G.V. Ramana Rao and

P. Sujatha Varma)

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Andhra Pradesh