With his image taking a beating following his absence in the Assembly on the crucial day when the T Bill was tabled, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is understood to be finding ways to revive his ‘lost glory.’ Sources said he is considering addressing public meetings across Seemandhra in the next one month to convey to the people that his stand on Samaikyandhra hasn’t changed one bit.
The meetings are likely to be similar to the recent public meeting in Vijayawada, which was addressed by the Chief Minister after inaugurating the Pulichintala Project.
Kiran Reddy is considering holding public meetings in major cities and headquarters of each district across Seemandhra, the sources said. As per this plan, the Chief Minister might address meetings in places such as Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Machilipatnam, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Kurnool, Anantapur and Tirupati.
“It is a fact that Kiran Reddy could not make it to the Assembly session on the day the bill was tabled because of illness. But, his absence ruined his image. Several people, including our own party leaders, are now suspecting that he had skipped the session deliberately so as not to defy his Delhi bosses,” a close aide of Kiran Reddy admitted. In order to contain the damage, Kiran Reddy is reportedly preparing himself to deliver a ‘spirited speech’ on the floor of the House in support of United AP when the Assembly resumes the T debate after recess on January 3.
According to sources, the Chief Minister wants to go to the public after the Assembly concludes its debate on the T Bill, probably by Jan 23, to once again take up a campaign in support of Samaikyandhra. A close confidant of Kiran Reddy divulged that the Chief Minister is confident that once he expresses his views on the contents of the T Bill clause-wise in the Assembly, people would again understand how strongly he is committed to keep the State united. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s trusted lieutenant and Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on Saturday swung into action and started batting for his boss to revive Kiran Reddy’s Samaikyandhra crusader’s image.
Stating that the Chief Minister had not strayed from the Samaikyandhra path, the MP said, “Kiran Reddy has not dropped the Samaikyandhra slogan. However, he becomes a hero if he succeeds in keeping the State united, otherwise he will become a zero.” He went on to compare Kiran to Arjuna.