Vijayawada: No low in Indian politics remains the lowest for long. Abusive, vituperative and unparliamentary language against opponents in Andhra Pradesh politics has suddenly replaced all other contentious issues – sand shortage, sagging economy, compulsory English medium across education, reverse tendering, corruption, religion and caste, and party cadre violence, among others.
The abuses hurled by leaders of the YSR Congress and Telugu Desam at each other while discussing some of the issues has increased so much for the past two days, that now, it has itself become the issue of discussion.
Minister Kodali Venkateswara Rao ‘Nani’ called former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu a sannasi (blockhead, dunce) and former minister D. Umamaheswara Rao vedhava (scoundrel) during a press meet on Saturday.
Speaking to media further on the controversy of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy not signing a declaration of his faith in the deity before entering the sacred Tirumala Tirupari temple, Kodali Nani said of the TD chief, “Did his mother’s husband (amma magodu) build the temple for him ask? Mr Jagan Reddy will enter any temple, mosque or church in AP without signing any declaration? Who are you to question? Stop your stupid rants (piccha vagudu).”
In another episode, in a live TV programme on a vernacular channel, Vallabhaneni Vamsi Gannavaram MLA who left the Telugu Desam and Y.V.B. Rajendra Prasad, TD MLC, turned abusive against each other.
Mr Vamsi called Mr Prasad a chatta naa kodaka (good for nothing yokel), told him to noru moosuko (shut your mouth) and threatened cheppu theguddi (will slap you with a shoe) and dokka paguluddhi (I will crush your belly), besides calling N. Lokesh, TD national secretary, a pappu (bumpkin).
TD leaders objected to the bad language used by Mr Vamsi, despite being currently in Ayyappa deeksha. People in Ayyappa deeksha are not supposed to use abusive language.
Mr Vamsi said no one should abuse a person who was in Ayyappa deeksha but TD leaders had abused him first, which was objectionable. He alleged that Mr Prasad abused him first, hence he lost control and used bad language. He further claimed that he had first addressed Rajendra Prasad as anna (elder brother) at the start of the discussion, but became angry allegations of taking huge money from TD were levelled against him.
Mr Prasad, famous for aggressive attacks against rivals during TV discussions, said he regretted that it was a “slip of tongue.”
Mr Vamsi defended himself on the issue of abusing Mr Lokesh, saying the film director Ram Gopal Varma had called Lokesh pappu and he had merely referred to it.
Kodali Nani also uttered filthy words against Mr Lokesh. He alleged that Uma Maheswara Rao had killed his sister-in-law, wife of Devineni Venkata Ramana, who had died in a train accident when he was a minister to get a TD ticket to contest the byelection.
TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu had earlier called Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy a durmargudu (nefarious, mendacious person), and compared his reign with that of Emperor Nero.
Earlier in the former finance minister Yanamala Rama-krishnudu called Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy a ‘mad Tughlaq’. This was because he was angered that Mr Reddy was reversing several decisions taken by the previous Telugu Desam government. He called the administration “heedless and incapable”, perhaps the most polite words on Saturday.
