A Leader’s Compassion Amid Tragedy
In the dusty lanes of Papireddypalli, Sri Sathya Sai district, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy knelt on the floor of a modest home on April 8, 2025, consoling the shattered family of Kuruba Lingamayya, a YSRCP supporter allegedly bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat amid a wave of political violence. What began as a condolence visit morphed into a blistering indictment of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP), as YS Jagan accused them of turning Andhra Pradesh into a lawless shadow of “old Bihar,” orchestrating a chilling assault on democracy itself. “This is not governance, it’s a mockery,” he declared, his voice steady but laden with fury, pointing to Lingamayya’s murder as a grim symbol of Naidu’s coercive tactics to manipulate local by-elections where TDP lacks a mandate. With locals chanting “CM, CM” and pressing petitions into his hands, YS Jagan’s visit laid bare a stark contrast: a leader rooted in empathy clashing with a regime he claims thrives on fear.
The Ramagiri Conspiracy Unveiled
The Ramagiri tragedy is no isolated incident, YS Jagan argued, but part of a broader pattern of TDP’s “Red Book Constitution”, a term he coined to describe Naidu’s alleged reliance on intimidation, police misuse, and brute force to seize power. In Ramagiri mandal, where YSRCP holds nine MPTCs to TDP’s one, the ruling party allegedly unleashed chaos during the recent MPP elections. YSRCP leaders claim TDP deployed Ramagiri SI Sudhakar to threaten their MPTC members via video calls, with one instance showing a member’s parents on screen to coerce her into compliance, leaving her in tears. When that failed, a convoy of eight YSRCP MPTCs, escorted under court orders, was intercepted, and the SI allegedly forced them to Penukonda for a bind-over, while two YSRCP leaders, Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy and Ushasri Charan, faced false cases for protesting the “kidnapping.” The violence peaked with Lingamayya’s killing on March 28, attacked by 20 assailants with sticks, stones, and a baseball bat that broke during the assault, though police named only two in the FIR, with three of eight witnesses tied to TDP. YS Jagan accused authorities of further humiliating the family by coercing Lingamayya’s illiterate wife into thumbprinting a pre-drafted document while ignoring his son’s testimony, a deliberate whitewash, he charged.
A Statewide Campaign of Terror
Across Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan sees the same script unfolding, from Tirupati to Visakhapatnam, Ramakuppam to Attili, where TDP’s lack of grassroots support allegedly fuels a campaign of terror. In Allagadda, a March 6 attack on Pratap Reddy during temple prayers echoed a prior murder of his brother under Naidu’s watch; in Mahanandi, Pasupuleti Subbarayudu was killed near Nandyala’s police headquarters with no response; in Pedakurapadu, Sambireddy was gravely injured with iron rods last July; and in Palnadu’s Vinukonda, Rashid was hacked to death. YS Jagan rattled off names of YSRCP leaders like Posani Krishna Murali, jailed for a month over a 2017 statement, ex-MP Nandigam Suresh, held for 105 days, and Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, detained for 55 days, all on false cases, while ex-MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi faces harassment despite no role in a TDP office attack. “Where they can’t win votes, they wield weapons,” he charged, warning that Naidu’s authoritarian grip scars the state’s democratic fabric. Yet, YS Jagan’s defiance carried a promise: “This reign of fear won’t endure. The day of reckoning is near, and the people will rise with justice.”
Humanity Amid the Storm
Beyond the fiery rhetoric, YS Jagan’s visit revealed a quieter strength. Sitting cross-legged beside Lingamayya’s kin, he listened as they poured out their grief, accepting a humble sip of water, a gesture that resonated deeply in a crowd still reeling from loss. Villagers thronged him, their slogans echoing a loyalty undimmed by YSRCP’s electoral setbacks. Petitions piled up, each a plea for a leader they still see as their own. It was a moment that transcended politics, underscoring YS Jagan’s bond with the grassroots, a connection forged not in power, but in shared struggle. Yet, the visit wasn’t without its shadows. The helicopter he traveled in suffered a shattered windshield at the helipad, a lapse MLC Lella Appi Reddy later decried as part of a broader neglect, questioning if it was a conspiracy given prior notice and permissions went ignored, a pattern, he claimed, reflecting YS Jagan’s reduced security since the coalition took power. YS Jagan himself issued a stern warning to police: “Don’t salute Naidu over the Constitution. Change your ways, or we’ll strip your uniforms and hold you accountable before the people, principal and interest included
