An election manifesto, at best, is a published document containing declaration of the ideology, intentions, views, policies and programmes of a political party. Strangely, in Telangana, the Congress party’s recent election manifesto, with its stand-out six-guarantee feature, has become the Holy Grail not just for the ruling party but also the principal opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi. The other day, BRS leader Harish Rao, while putting together documents, double-checked on whether the Congress manifesto was part of his portfolio, saying: “This is Gita, Bible and Quran for us now”. Well, with its unblinking focus on the contents of the Congress manifesto, BRS is at least keeping public memory refreshed on a daily basis.
KCR wants to go Shoban Babu way, cadre wants him to remain Rajinikanth style
American essayist, poet philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “As we grow old, the beauty steals inward”. Arresting age and freezing beauty may not be possible, with all of man’s advances in longevity and beauty products. That is why perhaps yesteryear heartthrob Telugu film actor Shoban Babu chose to stop acting and voluntarily faded away from the tinsel town as a young actor so as to remain youthful forever in his fans’ minds. Both actors and politicians thrive on their image in people’s minds. So, KCR’s noticeable absence during the recent Assembly sessions and his curtailed public appearances of late have given room for party spin doctors to compare him to Shoban Babu, saying:“He wants to remain as a CM having a big stature in the minds of people”. The former CM’s detractors, however, pounced at this, saying “While Shoban Babu quit acting, KCR hasn’t stopped”. As a way out, KCR’s die-hard fans among the cadre want him to be like Rajinikanth, who never fails to strike a chord with his audience whatever be the age of the character he happens to play in a film (like, for example, in the film Jailer). Observers say KCR’s absence in the Assembly is hurting BRS cadre most; for, their pitch is: “Do these Congress leaders match the stature of KCR for him to come?”
And the fresh rules for
scribes say: ‘back off’
A leopard never changes its spots. Politicians, regardless of what they proclaim loftily from pulpits, cannot afford to let the prying eyes of the media see through things everywhere in the Assembly or at the Secretariat. The Budget session of the Telangana Assembly was painfully different for media persons hanging out in the lobbies; for, there was no place at all for them to sit. The room meant for the media has remained closed since the time the Model Code of Conduct came into force before the Assembly polls. The dramatic removal of barricades and the tearing down of walls between praja (media included) and palakulu soon after Revanth Reddy took over as the Chief Minister proved to be short-lived. At one point, media personnel were thrilled to know that they had unhindered access to all portions of the Assembly, including the Chief Minister’s chambers. On the concluding day of the Budget session, officials, acting apparently on fresh orders, gave media persons a re-run of their dog days during the erstwhile KCR regime. The Secretariat too is not yet fully open for the media.
Much-maligned Medigadda pillars a selfie spot
One of the downsides of garnering attention on social media is that it is fine to throw caution to the wind. No wonder, a selfie with even the body of one’s icon is acceptable to prompt ‘likes’. For true-blue journalists, taking tell-tale snapshots of what they write about, whether positive or negative, is a requirement; not just an add-on. The other day, while on a conducted tour organized by the Congress-led Telangana government to the sunken Medigadda barrage pillars, scribes had a field day clicking cracks and sagging pillars for enriching their news reports. Some went beyond their call of duty too. They competed with one another for taking selfies as well at the much-maligned pillars. Considering the irony of the field visit — got up mainly to expose the alleged graft in the Kaleshwaram project – one of the journalists ‘on duty’ recalled the famous song from the super-hit 1980 film ‘Aakali Rajyam’ in which the protagonist, played by actor Kamal Hasan, sings, ‘Swatantra desamlo chaavu koodaa pellilaantide brother’ (‘In this free nation, even death is like marriage, Brother’).
Humanity over animal traits
Barbs between politicians, whether in or out of power, do have some entertainment value for people, who are the ultimate arbiters of any politician’s ascent or descent. Upon sudden change in fortunes, Telangana’s former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and present CM Revanth Reddy have started drawing upon the traits of animals to characterize each other. Soon after the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s defeat in the recent Assembly elections, KCR said:” I don’t know what went wrong with Telangana voters. They left a milking cow for a stubborn buffalo”. Reacting to it, Revanth Reddy said: “Actually, people got rid of a donkey and brought a race horse”. At the end of the day, what prajalu value is humanity, not the animal instincts of palakulu.
(With inputs from Naveena Ghanate, K Venkateshwarlu and SNCN Acharyulu)
