Jagan’s release makes tremors

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Jawaharlal Nehru was a born leader; Indira Gandhi achieved greatness, Rajiv Gandhi had greatness thrust upon him, while Rahul Gandhi is waiting in the wings. Where does Jagan stand now? Before going to jail he was known as his father’s son -- inheriting his father’s fame, wealth and liabilities. No one would have given him such a memorable reception. The prison is supposed to be a place for mellowing one’s character. When someone has passed through the prison it is expected that he or she becomes a better person, metamorphosed by the prison’s regimental life . And true to that philosophy many people have gone to prison and come out reformed. Even the jail authorities have conceded that Jagan was a good prisoner. Besides, Jagan benefited from the sympathy factor as he was detained in the jail for 16 months, making mockery of the law. If he can sustain this euphoria, he will emerge as a mass leader, giving sleepless nights to his detractors (read N Chandrababu Naidu).

The YSR family, headed by his mother and sister, was able to maintain the political momentum across the State through the turbulent times, including winning 16 of the 18 Assembly seats in the by-elections. One main weapon for him was his arrow -- Sharmila. Sharmila’s record padayatra covering more than 3,000 km across the State and the recent bus yatra had the desired results of keeping the pot boiling for Jagan. In fact, Sharmila has called herself Jagan’s baanam. She has won the hearts of Telugus by openly declaring that the YSRCP stands for a united Andhra Pradesh and would fight for it till the last. Jagan’s release is certain to give an impetus to the party’s electoral push in the days to come. By charting his agenda clearly from the jail itself, Jagan has gone many miles ahead in the race for the 2014 elections.

Jagan walked out of the Chanchalguda jail to a hero’s welcome, setting off tremors that are expected to drastically change the equations in what will remain of Andhra Pradesh after the Telangana state is carved out. The YSR Congress has become the only political party to have consistently championed a united Andhra Pradesh -- a fact likely to strike a chord in Seemandhra. Just a fortnight ago a survey in Seemandhra had given TDP 104 of the region’s 175 Assembly seats next year. But things have changed overnight with Jagan’s release. As an immediate result of Jagan’s release there is a likelihood of some Congress and TDP members defecting to the YSRCP. If Jagan doesn’t misuse his freedom and land up in jail again, his party has the potential to sweep the elections in Seemandhra.

We at The Hans India are happy that Jagan has been released two days after we wrote in this column that his detention for 16 months is illegal and unconstitutional. We said the investigating agency and the courts did not follow the due process of law and was depriving Jagan of his fundamental rights by keeping him in jail for an indefinite period. We do not know whether the CBI Special Court has taken note of our point of view, but the fact that he has since been released, coincidence or otherwise, gives us some satisfaction.

We also wrote in the same column, the highhanded behavior of the DGP, V Dinesh Reddy, in threatening the Resident Editor of The Hindu for publishing a report related to the DGP’s visit to a Muslim Baba. The police are still harassing the Editor even though he has obtained an anticipatory bail. It is a major relief for the journalistic fraternity that the DGP’s claim for an extension of service has been turned down by the government and he will retire on Sunday. This also vindicates our stand that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”