MY TRIBUTE TO YSR

I am no fan of YSR. On the contrary, i have been his staunch critic on several issues, over the years. But , this is not about those issues.
This is about the tragic, sudden, untimely death of a very popular, young,dynamic, very fit Chief Minister of my state of Andhra Pradesh.

I first caught the news of missing helicopter around 12-30pm yesterday. Since then i was glued to the TV like millions others. My heart told me , as hours passed by, that the worst has probably happened. But, there was always that very slim chance, a miracle. Alas--- that was not to be.

As i look back, i first became aware of YSR in the early 80s. As an young MLA he started making his mark. He was a stormy petrel, an 'young turk' in the congress party. They used to make him a deputy minister to keep him quiet. But he became more vociferous and critical. Some congressmen used to call him (jokingly) as 'leader of opposition'. Over the years he matured and became a shrewed politician.

He was PCC president on a couple of occasions and was also the leader of opposition for some time. There are a few things that certainly stand out in his political career.

The first thing that comes to my mind is his 'PADAYATRA' in 2003, wherin he walked 1400kms all over the state covering a lot of rural areas and REACHING OUT to people. That he did it in hot summer at the age of 54 goes to show how fit he was. People all over the state sat up and took notice of his padayatra. Though Chandrababu was very popular with the urban and the educated with his 'HITECH' immage, YSR marketed himself well as the champion of the rural folks who are mostly dependent on agriculture. He came to power defeating Babu entirely on his own hard work and efforts.

The next thing that comes to my mind is the pre-2009 election period. This was the time when there was a tremendous pressure on YSR , both with in and out side his party, to give in on the Telangana demand. There was a role reversal. The champion of 'swarna Andhra Pradesh' all along, Chandrababu did a volte face and supported seperate Telangana. Babu joined hands with , of all the people, KCR of TRS. The communists, always against a seperate Telangana, also jumped on the band waggon. Thus the entire Opposition ganged up into a grand alliance pitted against YSR. It is to YSR's credit that he stood firm like a rock , convinced his high command that he can deliver the votes (and seats) and took on the might of the opposition, single handed and head on. Babu's unholy alliance with TRS cost him dearly and YSR was the more credible option. The rest is history and YSR triumphed. I salute him for his steadfast support of a united A.P.

He had many popular schemes going, often, at great cost to the state. Many of these schemes were also money spinners for the corrupt. But, there is one scheme for which i salute him. It is the ' AROGYA SRI' scheme. The concept of this scheme is that the poor should have access to the best of medical aid, free of cost, when required. I know of a number of genuine benificieries of this scheme who had major surgeries under this scheme and are living their normal lives today. But for this scheme they would have probably died. This is a scheme that is really working for the poor. It may not be perfect but it is working. And it is YSR's brain child.

It is a real tragedy that a dynamic, young leader like YSR met with an untimely and violent death. He was on his way to a few villages near chittor to interact with the villagers in his 'Rachabanda' programme when his copter crashed. The people of AP, particularly those who have benifited by his schemes, will greatly miss him. But it is even a bigger loss to the congress party which doesn't have anyone nearly half as good to replace him.

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE