The Week India – July 21, 2019

34 THE WEEK • JULY 21, 2019

POLITICS

ANDHRA PRADESH

AN UNEASY CALM prevails in the

Telugu Desam Party, as the fate of

N. Chandrababu Naidu’s riverfront

residence at Undavalli village near

Vijayawada hangs in the balance. The

former Andhra Pradesh chief minis-

ter lives in a bungalow on the banks

of the Krishna, and it was allegedly

built flouting environmental laws.

The allegation has the TDP on the

back foot, when it is yet to recover

from the drubbing it got in the recent

Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Naidu and his partymen have not

been able to counter the offensive

With his demolition drive, Jaganmohan

Reddy is earning his stripes as a decisive

administrator and canny politician

BY RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

Knocking

Naidu down

launched by Chief Minister Jagan-

mohan Reddy and the YSR Congress.

Having won a huge mandate, Jagan

has taken a number of bold decisions

within a month of taking charge. An

eviction notice recently stuck outside

Naidu’s home has so unsettled the

TDP that it is yet to make a counter

move.

“There are two views within the

party,” said a TDP leader. “One sec-

tion wants Naidu to make it an issue

and capitalise on it to get people’s

support. The other leaders want

Naidu to quietly move out. Whatever

stand we take, the structure will be

r a z e d .”

Naidu had moved into the bun-

galow in 2015, amid criticism from

environmentalists and opposition

leaders. A year later, he built a huge

hall called Praja Vedika near the

bungalow to hold official meetings

and events. Praja Vedika, too, was

constructed illegally, and the state

government demolished it on June

26.

TDP leaders insist that their muted

response to the demolition is part of

a wider strategy. “We have decided

to not criticise the new government

for the first six months,” said TDP

legislator Buddha Venkanna. “They

spent around 0 1.5 crore for the

demolition. Why should they spend

so much public money? They could

have used it for some other purpose

instead. Whether it is legal or illegal,

the owner of the land will fight it out

in court.”

By going by the rule book to corner

Naidu, Jagan has projected himself as

a strong and decisive chief minister.

The state government has also issued

notices to around 60 properties in the

Krishna basin. Much of the credit for

highlighting the illegal construction