Hyderabad: In Andhra Pradesh, the rhetoric this election season has devolved into name calling with derogatory terms — ‘psycho vs sadist,’ ‘evildoer vs habitual offender,’ ‘murderer vs monster’ — being thrown around by both the ruling and Opposition party leaders as they campaign across the state.
Andhra Pradesh is set to vote for both Lok Sabha and assembly seats in a single phase on 13 May. And as the intensity of electioneering escalates, along with the searing heat, party supremos are often seen losing their cool, setting a troubling example for their candidates, say political observers on the fall in decorum in the state’s electoral space.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and former CM Chandrababu Naidu have been at the forefront of these outbursts, frequently resorting to abusive language in their public speeches. This behaviour has now caught the attention of the Election Commission of India (ECI), prompting chief electoral officer (CEO) of Andhra Pradesh, Mukesh Kumar Meena, to issue notices to both. They have been directed to clarify their positions regarding the alleged derogatory remarks made against their opponents.
The notice was issued to TDP chief Naidu on 3 April following objections raised by Lella Appi Reddy, the general secretary of YSRCP. Similarly, Jagan received a notice on 7 April, based on objections raised by Varla Ramaiah, TDP general secretary.
Both Lella and Varla, in their respective complaints, quoted the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which forbids the use of provocative and inflammatory statements, use of intemperate and abusive language transgressing the limits of decency, and attacks on the personal character and conduct of political rivals vitiating the level playing field.
Political observers are lamenting such exchanges between political leaders.
“This tendency began in the 1980s with TDP’s remarks and Congress’s counter remarks but thankfully remained low. Now, to talk inappropriately in public, in poll speeches seems to have become a trend. And sadly, as party cadres get invigorated and the masses, too, respond gleefully to such improper utterances, leaders continue to play to the gallery,” Chalasani Srinivas, founder president of the Andhra Intellectual Forum, said to ThePrint.
He added that even the state assembly is witnessing this fall in decorum. “Several abusive, body-shaming and violent remarks were made by both ruling and Opposition legislators inside the house which sometimes had to be expunged from records.”
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What Lella and Varla’s letters say
In his letter to the chief electoral officer, YSRCP’s Lella said that Naidu, while addressing voters in Kurnool, Prakasam and Bapatla districts on 31 March, made vilifying and derogatory statements against party chief Jagan and presented a list of such terms along with YouTube links of speeches and a pen drive containing the evidence.
These phrases included, ‘Namminchi gonthu kosey rakam Jagan’ (Jagan cuts throats of people trusting him), ‘durmaargudu’ (wicked man), ‘Rayalaseema drohi’ (betrayer of Rayalaseema people), “dushtudu” (evildoer) “donga” (thief) “raakshasudu” (monster/demon) and “janthuvulu” (animals).
“Naidu has used inappropriate vocabulary and abusive language, made false, unsubstantiated and unverified allegations, and made personal attacks against Jagan. Naidu despite being a senior leader has transgressed all limits of decency, conventions of decorum and levels of political discourse,” Lella accused in his letter to the CEO on 1 April. ThePrint has accessed the letter.
Lella further complained that Naidu, in his campaigns, “has repeatedly raised the question to the voters ‘Who killed Babai (uncle)?’ insinuating that Jagan has had a role to play in the alleged murder of his uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy.”
“Whereas, Jagan has not been arraigned as an accused by the investigating agency (CBI), Naidu in his wisdom has made unsubstantiated, unverified and baseless allegations against Jagan. More particularly, when the subject-matter of the allegations are part of the chargesheet that is sub-judice, Naidu’s remarks are unwarranted and hamper the justice administration system,” Lella wrote.
Two days after the CEO sought an explanation from Naidu, the TDP, too, lodged a complaint against CM Jagan on 5 April with references to his poll speeches in the Nellore-Chittoor region between 2 and 4 April.
In his letter, TDP’s Varla cited Jagan’s statement against Nadu. The CM had said, “These elections are a war between Chandrababu, a ‘habitual offender’ who made it a profession to deceive people and the AP public.” ThePrint has accessed the letter.
With cinema a major part of the state’s culture, comparisons are being drawn with villainous characters to describe opponents.
Varla wrote that Jagan had likened Naidu to Pasupathi, the antagonist in the super-hit film Arundhati, and to the Chandramukhi’s character in the Rajinikanth-starrer blockbuster Chandramukhi.
“lt is time to seal the devil Chandramukhi in a chest to stop it from sucking our blood,” Jagan allegedly said at Puthalapattu YSRCP Siddham meet last week.
Reacting to the CM’s remarks, Naidu in TDP’s Amalapuram rally had said that he wasn’t offended since “Pasupathi refers to Lord Shiva”.
TDP’s Varla also quoted Jagan’s words from on 4 April, that 31 old men and women had lost their lives as they could not bear the pain and heat while walking and waiting for pensions.
“31 people were killed by this Chandrababu Naidu. Should we call him a murderer or worse?” the CM remarked, saying that it was at Naidu’s behest that the ECI stopped volunteers from disbursing pensions at beneficiaries’ doorstep.
“Is this man called Chandrababu Naidu a human? Or a sadist?” Jagan asked the audience at one of the Siddham rallies.
Varla claimed that Naidu had asked the chief secretary to arrange doorstep pension distribution during the summer, “but it was not considered”.
“Having arranged the death trap for the beneficiaries, the sitting Chief Minister is calling the Leader of Opposition a murderer,” the TDP politburo member wrote in his letter to the CEO, seeking “immediate, appropriate action for Jaganmohan Reddy’s calumny against Nara Chandrababu Naidu under the election laws and IPC.”
While Jagan has called Naidu a sadist, the TDP chief and his partymen have been continuously referring to the CM as a “psycho” for the past few years. The opposition leader charges that Jagan with his “anti-people policies has been troubling all sections of the AP people.”
#PsychoPovaaliCycleRaavali (psycho should exit, cycle should enter) is a popular catchphrase and social media trend promoted by the TDP. Cycle is the TDP’s poll symbol.
What the chief electoral officer says
Stating that “prima facie” he is of the view that by making such speeches both Naidu and Jagan have violated the MCC, CEO Meena, in his notices to Naidu and Jagan, has sought explanation within 48 hours from the receipt of notices.
“In the event of no response from your side within the stipulated time, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in the matter and a report will be sent to the Election Commission of India for further appropriate action,” stated the CEO in his notices.
The ECI states that MCC violation, especially in the case of leaders of political parties, has a widespread impact on the election process across constituencies.
In his notices to the two leaders, which ThePrint has accessed, the CEO wrote: “The Commission has been noticing several trends, which are at work, destabilising the decorum of the political discourse during campaigning. Apart from the direct violations of the MCC, trends are in play where systematically crafted and timed statements, surrogate or indirect violations using satire to raise unverified allegations, etc. (are being used) during election campaigns.
“The spirit of the Model Code is not just avoidance of a direct violation. It also prohibits attempts to vitiate the electoral space through suggestive or indirect statements or innuendoes. The Commission has time and again reiterated the MCC instructions and strongly advised and cautioned all National and State Parties, the RUPPs, and independent candidates to exercise caution and restraint in their utterances.”
In view of the General Elections 2024 and simultaneous elections to some legislative assemblies, which includes Andhra Pradesh, the Election Commission, on 1 March, issued an advisory to political parties on plummeting levels of public discourse during campaigning. The advisory lays down the expected decorum by political parties and candidates in general and Star Campaigners in particular. The CEO said that the missive very clearly indicates that any genres of surrogate or indirect violation of MCC and surrogate means to plummet the level of election campaign will be dealt with stem action.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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