Andhra Pradesh is known to be a peaceful state, and the state has gained international recognition for progressive policies and reputation in terms of its multi-dimensional development in various sectors, with IT taking the forefront during the past decade. Since May 14, 2004, when the YSR Government came into being, the people of Andhra Pradesh have lost all dignity of living in a civilized and democratic society, even as the gangsters of YSR roam freely across various districts, terrorizing TDP party activists and leaders, picking them at will, threatening opposition cadre and their families, looting and destroying their properties, intimidating, forcing them to flee their homes and ancestral villages in large numbers, and indulging in land grabbing in prime areas and forcing the settlements of land disputes by extorting huge amounts of money.
The rule brings back, from the first day of YSR’s chief ministership, the images of the reigns of some of the most oppressive tyrants and dictators from the past. The moment YSR assumed office, he started resorting to political murders for which he is colluding and enlisted the cooperation of notorious criminals, thus destroying the democratic fabric of life.
The chilling picture is complete when one considers the active support and actual help provided by the pliable police, who, in their inclination to please their political bosses and under pressure in some instances, are fully cooperating with the Congress factionalism, under instructions of their political bosses, to terrorize the Telugu Desam supporters through the power of the gun and frequent harassment by foisting false cases against them.
In this scenario, the rule of the gun, fully sponsored, planned, willed, and executed by the newly formed government of Andhra Pradesh, under the henchman ship of a feudal, revengeful, and factional leader. This bloodthirsty factional violence and the rule of guns as a way of life came to an early climax in the broad daylight murder of a Telugu Desam legislator, the sitting MLA of the Assembly. YSR would not stop even at his party leaders if his supremacy is questioned.
His track record of loyalties within the party was often dotted with insane activities like having chappals thrown on his party’s own leader and Prime Minister of the country, P V Narasimha Rao, and the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy, in his native district Kadapa. He organized a massive massacre of the innocent public by bringing down the entire old city of Hyderabad with riots unmatched in the state’s history to bring down Marri Channa Reddy, Congress Chief Minister from power.
This unprecedented incident was repeatedly mentioned with agony by the late Dr. M. Channa Reddy. The name YSR evokes fear and chill. His father, Raja Reddy, is still a name that causes dread, and his son, Jaganmohan Reddy, is growing into becoming a perfect inheritor of the legacy of the numero uno factionalist family in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the history of the most dangerous criminal politicians, Y S Rajashekhara Reddy’s story is not limited to just Pulivendula or Kadapa.
He has not only grown into an unchallenged leader in Pulivendula but is also the uncrowned king of Factionalist Rule in Rayalaseema. Nobody would have any objection if he had achieved his present political status by doing service to the people in a democratic way. But YSR achieved it by exploiting the faction culture in the Kadapa district and spending money made from the illegal mining of barytes and muscle power. Rajashekhara Reddy was personally involved in rigging and other electoral malpractices.
He encouraged anti-social elements like rowdies, killers, dacoits, gamblers, land-grabbers, bootleggers, etc. to spread influence and eliminate political rivals. Wherever there was a bushfire in politics, he did not hesitate to fuel it into an all-consuming flame for personal gains. Even if an opportunity existed to extinguish the fire, he never hesitated to use it for personal political gain. Apart from the ruthless exercise of muscle power, YSR also brought money power into politics on a scale hitherto unknown and unheard of. Political observers say Kadapa district politics had witnessed a sea of change after 1978 by pumping ill-gotten money earned from barytes mines into politics.
It led to the degradation of politics in the district. In fact, the mining of barytes has been going on in the Mangampet mines of Kodur mandal since 1925. But initially, there was not much market for barytes. Their demand went up only after it was discovered in the 1970s that barytes could be extensively used in petroleum refineries and consequently, their rate went up steeply. The YSR family became millionaires by entering the barytes-mining business. The father-son duo began wielding money and power and tried to dominate district politics after 1978. YSR’s family nurtured factions and resorted to violence to assert their might.
They spread this culture to villages by encouraging and abetting factional feuds and laid a path for their growth in politics. There is an inseparable relationship between money and factional violence, both raising their ugly heads in Pulivendula in a big way. This is clearly evident from the political history of YSR. As a matter of fact, the YSR family was not well off in the initial days. In the 1950s, Y S Raja Reddy was ostracized from Balapanuru, shifted to Pulivendula, and took up small-time contracts. He was blacklisted for beating engineering officials. Later, he developed a political rivalry with Dr.
D.N. Reddy was a popular leader with some values and wielded a lot of influence in Pulivendula taluk until then (see the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) commentary in its issue dated June 12, 2004, Annexure No. I). In order to counter Dr. D.N. Reddy’s political influence, Communist party leaders supported Raja Reddy, who had already earned notoriety as a rowdy (Rowdy Sheet No. 381 of 1966). The D.N. Reddy family, who were traditional political leaders, could not withstand the violent activities of Raja Reddy. In the 1960s, Raja Reddy’s name struck terror among the local people.
The locals still recall an incident of daylight murder committed by Raja Reddy in 1964. In those days, people were afraid of the Erukala tribe of Pulivendula. In that particular incident, Raja Reddy and his henchmen torched a tribal Oosanna by pouring kerosene in broad daylight. Since then, nobody could dare challenge Raja Reddy’s might (see the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), Kadapa, brought out a publication entitled ‘Kadapazillalo Palegalla Rajyam’, which contains various atrocities committed by YSR and his father, see Annexure No. II).
After this incident, Venkata Narsaiah, who belonged to the Weavers’ family, appointed Raja Reddy as Supervisor in his barytes business to control the laborers and prevent trade-related clashes in his company. Later, he took him as a minor partner. Being a minor partner, Raja Reddy wanted to take over the whole business of Venkata Narasaiah by paying a small amount. During this dispute, with a view to taking over the entire business, he eliminated Venkata Narasaiah in Kadapa Town. A criminal case No. 144/75 was filed in Kadapa town P.S. in the name of Raja Reddy and George Reddy.
During this time, YSR was the General Secretary of, the Youth Congress. People say that he masterminded the murder. Later, they were arrested under MISA. With a view to releasing his father and brother from MISA, YSR joined Congress ® headed by Vengal Rao and later contested on Congress ® Ticket and was elected as M.L.A in 1978. As a retaliation, Venkata Narsaiah’s relatives opened fire at YSR in the State Secretariat itself, but he managed to escape the attempt upon his life injuries taking shelter behind the Secretariat Superintendent, who received the shots and succumbed to injuries.
In 1982, the state government nationalized the mining of barytes and acquired all patta lands of Mangampet, and handed them over to the AP Mineral Development Corporation. Using his political clout, YSR was able to lease about 2 acres of land. Besides mining in the sub-leased area, he also started illicit mining in the APMDC area and went further to dig up the Geological Monument, which was declared a protected area by the archaeological department. By the time the government swung into action and stopped this illegal mining, YSR’s barytes company had already dug up the archaeological site.
Aggrieved by this, Vivekananda moved to the High Court and obtained a stay order, but he earned the wrath of YSR subsequently. In revenge, Rajashekhara Reddy’s men waylaid and assaulted Rajagopal, uncle of Vivekananda, at a hotel near Abids in Hyderabad. Though Vivekananda was able to regain his piece of land, YSR’s company had already dug up the entire barytes ore available on the land worth Rs 5 crore (Cr. No. 54/92). Locals say that several murders were organized by YSR and Raja Reddy to establish their political and business empire, crushing the voice of the people and suppressing the cases.
YSR never allowed his political rivals to grow. In order to crush his rivals, he encouraged criminals. Not only rivals, but even his followers admitted that YSR would never tolerate political opponents and mercilessly crush them in a calculated manner. A fine example of this is the case of Vishnu Kanchi Reddy of Karnapapaiah Palle of Lingala mandal in Pulivendula taluk. Once a powerful leader and agriculturist and owner of several buses, he grew as a strong political opponent of YSR. Seventeen years ago, YSR encouraged some of the villagers against him. They killed Vishnu Kanchi Reddy’s brother Raghuram Reddy, who was a single window society president. Subsequently, five people were killed in a span of one year in that village. Now the village is under the dominance of YSR. On June 30, 1989, T. D. P.’s followers observed the Bharat bandh call given by opposition parties in Pulivendula. As the bandh was successful, Raja Reddy became furious, and within one week, he got active participants ‘Sivarami Reddy and Narayana’ brutally murdered.
Partha Sarathy Reddy M. A. BL, once an ardent supporter of YSR, opposed him for not being given a ZPTC ticket. This naturally irked YSR, and he conspired to eliminate Parthasarathy Reddy physically, and an attempt was made on his life (Cr. No. 62/96 u/s 307 IPC Pulivendula P. S. on 1.2.1996). YSR has a knack for committing criminal activities and is capable of escaping from the jaws of the law. In one incident, P. Krishna Reddy, a strong Mandal-level leader of TDP, Pedda Kudala village, Lingala Mandal, was murdered on 1.12.96 in Pulivendula town.
To escape from the murder case, he created an alibi by involving himself in an assault case in Hyderabad (Cr. No. 326/87 u/s 324 Abids P.S.). In the Pulivendula constituency, the YSR family did not allow free campaign polling in the villages. During one of the elections in Vempally village, YSR’s brother, Vivekananda Reddy, dragged TDP agents from the polling booths. People revolted against the high-handedness of Vivekananda Reddy, and he asked his bodyguard to open fire, resulting in the death of 52-year-old Neelam Subbanna. In spite of this incident, YSR forcefully entered the polling booth.
A local Circle Inspector tried to prevent YSR, stating that it was against the rules, but YSR pushed him aside and rigged the booth. The presiding officer also lodged a complaint with the police against YSR (Cr. No. 12/95 u/s 45/384 IPC 506 at Vempally P.S. on 3.5.1995). This is a common phenomenon adopted by the YSR family in every election. Since 1982, YSR has taken up the program of bringing a so-called compromise among factionists in villages. However, this compromise does not mean any attempt to restore democratic atmosphere in villages, but rather, it’s a move to establish an uneasy calm in villages under YSR’s authority.
It is not intended to ensure that people lead a normal and fearless life, but this is done only to see that there is no competition to his monopoly. Both groups work for YSR’s victory in elections. Whatever the poll outcome in other parts of the State, they work to ensure that YSR wins elections because they simply follow whatever is dictated by local factional leaders. If a group deviates from this compromise formula, YSR will acquire all their properties. It would be part of the agreement, and warring factions would even submit blank stamp papers duly fixing their signatures.
YSR and his family would schematically maintain two groups in a village, each led by two persons of the family. In case of dispute, they never try to settle, but rather allow the two groups to settle the score, often resulting in the tragic deaths of innocents. To cite an example, Inagalur village of Tondur Mandal in Pulivendula taluk hit the headlines for peculiar reasons. There were two groups in the village, one belonging to Erikala Reddy which owes allegiance to YSR, and the other group of Kullayi Reddy which owes allegiance to Raja Reddy. This peculiar system that was never heard of before continued till 1990.
In 1990, in a small feud, those two groups clashed, resulting in the deaths of three of Kullayi Reddy’s men – Rammohan Reddy, Rajashekhara, and Ramakrishna Reddy – due to a bomb attack by the Erikala Reddy group. The prime witness in the case, Prasad Reddy, was stabbed to death by the accused on December 9, 1995. The case ended in acquittal. In retaliation, Kullayi Reddy’s group attacked the rival faction and burnt Obul Reddy alive, along with his bullock cart, besides setting fire to 21 houses and damaging properties worth Rs. 20 lacks. This case ended in conviction. YSR adopted different tactics in other taluks, encouraging factional leaders.
Thus, Devagudi Shankar Reddy was encouraged to fight against P. Siva Reddy in Jammalamadugu; Varadarajulu Reddy against Ramana Reddy in Proddatur, and Nagi Reddy and Narayan Reddy against S. Palakonda Rayudu in Rayachoti. Devagudi Shankar Reddy’s sons murdered P. Siva Reddy, the then-MLA, in broad daylight in the heart of Hyderabad City near Satya Sai Nigamagamam. In Kodur, Raja Reddy himself entered the scene, taking on Chengal Rayudu by creating terror. During this period, as many as eight people were killed on both sides, and there was large-scale destruction of orange orchards and mango trees in Koduru and Rajampet areas.
In 1985, the rivals of Chengalrayulu brutally murdered his brother Subrahmanyam, the Sarpanch of Settigunta village. In retaliation, Chengalrayulu’s men hacked Ramachandra Naidu to death, who was a mango merchant. These attacks and counterattacks claimed eight lives. To strengthen his hold in the area, YSR extended support to Chengalrayulu. In this way, Pulivendula leaders began involving themselves in faction politics in Koduru. Chengalrayulu did not anticipate that this would one day turn a noose around his neck. In 1987, he was elected as Koduru mandal president on a Congress ticket.
After 1992, differences cropped up between Chengalrayulu and the YSR family. Since Koduru is a reserved constituency, Chengalrayulu had no chance of becoming an MLA from his native constituency. Therefore, he desperately tried for the Rajampet ticket. But YSR got the ticket for his close follower. The resulting dissatisfaction led to clashes between Chengalrayulu and the YSR family. Added to this, there were some property disputes. Raja Reddy, who had till then confined himself to the barytes mining business at Mangampet, began his faction against Chengalrayulu.
This was led by Ramakrishna Reddy, who used to run a 100-member strong private army for YSR’s family at Pulivendula to commit riots and kill rivals. The same private army started violence against Chengalrayulu in Koduru. Chengalrayulu, who had lost his elder brother Subrahmanyam in faction feuds, now lost his younger brother Madhavaiah and 17 people belonging to his group. Raja Reddy and YSR, who had initially entered Koduru politics in support of Chengalrayulu, by now had established their supremacy in this area also. They purchased hundreds of acres of mango gardens and established gangs in every village.
Raja Reddy’s men killed Murali Mohan Reddy, the Managing Director of Triveni Steels, at Venkata Rajampet of Pullampet Mandal, only because the YSR family thought he was posing a threat to the political monopoly of the local mandal president, Brahmananda Reddy, a close follower of YSR. YSR, in whatever position he is, faction and feudal behavior never leave him, and he acted showing scant respect to the law of the land and established traditions to be strictly adhered to by the elected public representatives.
Some incidents mentioned below would prove the brutal and crude character of YSR :
- He beat the attendant at A. P. Bhavan, New Delhi while he was an M. P.
- He called on a convict in a murder case (Gouru Venkata Reddy) in Kurnool Sub-Jail on 17th September 2002 while he was the leader of the Opposition, which is equivalent to a Cabinet Minister.
- He poured ink in the ballot box in APCO elections while he was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition party.
- He damaged, with a group of his henchmen, the CM’s office in the Assembly while he was an opposition leader.
