KSR Column: The Law Will Take Its Own Course And We Will Take Ours

By Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has set a rule for itself - the law will take its own course and we will take ours. Now, the administration too seems to be following in the footsteps of its masters.

Obsessed with land grabbing - officially called land pooling - the TDP government has now set its eyes on Penumaka village. It is going all out to lay its hands on further hundreds of acres. This is in addition to the 33,000 acres that has been 'officially' taken over in the name of a new capital city. In this regard, a new notification has also been issued by the government. Accordingly, revenue officials descended on the village in the name of 'opinion-gathering exercise'.

The innocent villagers believed the officials and gathered at the meeting to voice their opinions. They also urged the officials to prepare minutes of the meeting and record the same in the minutes book. That was flatly refused by the senior revenue official who presided over the meeting.

Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who was in attendance, then urged the official to give his refusal in writing - that too was rejected. That brings the question - if it is an official meeting where the opinion of farmers was solicited shouldn't there be an official documentation. Was the request of the farmers, who are set to lose their precious lands, unlawful?

Naturally, the refusal infuriated the farmers and villagers alike. They promptly went on a rampage and pulled down the makeshift tent. It was in this heat of the moment that MLA Ramakrishna Reddy too pushed away the official's table. That was enough for the police to register a case against the legislator.

Now, compare that with the ruckus created by MP JC Diwakar Reddy at Visakhapatnam airport recently. Was any case registered against the MP? Was he denied permission to board a plane? On the contrary, he managed to get a boarding pass and travelled from Vizag to Hyderabad. Of course, he left a trail of destruction - boarding pass machine was damaged, furniture was overturned and an airline official was roughed-up. Sure, the law will take its own course but that is no way near the course that the TDP and its followers are now treading.

If the revenue officials refuse the simple request of the poor farmers and twist the laws just like their political masters, to whom will the people complain to? Is it a crime to conduct land acquisiton as per the Land Pooling Act? If the opinions and objections of the farmers are noted down in the minutes book, will it impede land pooling in any way? Should cases be filed against the senior official or against the farmers and the MLA? If this is the respect to the law displayed by the state government and the officials in the administration surely people will be left directionless.

Parting Shot

According to a local vernacular that supports the ruling party in the state, someone has written a letter to the World Bank on behalf of the farmers who gave away their lands for the new capital city. Based on that letter, the World Bank will in all probability stop funds for the construction of the new capital city - the state government alleged. Question: Does the grant or refusal of funds by the Bank depend on anonymous letters or on the grounds of reality presented in facts and figures by the government of the day?

Let us assume such a letter has been sent to the Bank, What exactly is the AP government afraid of? Is the state government taking the World Bank for a ride just as it misled thousands of farmers? The arrogant replies of the chief minister and subsequently by government officials indicate that this could be true.

Surely, the farmers will willingly give away their precious lands if the state government shows development and jobs there. But repeated issue of notifications for further land pooling shows a government that lacks planning and direction. The government is more pre-occupied with filing false cases against the opposition and silencing those who question its actions. A certain Pawan Kalyan once spoke in support of these farmers and warned the government against grabbing the land of the hapless farmers. But that man is nowhere to be seen now.

Unless the state government mends its ways and brings in transparency in its actions through democratic means, perhaps a second term for the TDP beyond 2019 will be a pipe dream.