Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has turned a virtual beggar to raise funds for the Amaravati farmers’ movement against the proposed shifting of Andhra Pradesh’s administrative capital to Visakhapatnam.
On Saturday evening, Naidu led a huge rally of thousands of people and party workers under the auspices of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi (a Joint Action Committee to protect Amaravati) in the temple town of Tirupati.
During the three kilometres-long march from NTR Statue to Krishnapuram, Naidu went from person to person with his green-coloured towel stretched like a “jholi”, seeking alms. People responded in large numbers by dropping currency notes and coins in his towel, even as the security personnel struggled to control the crowd.
Naidu’s beggar act had also illicited a huge response on the streets of Machilipatnam in Krishna district on Thursday and Rajahmundry on Friday. Apart from the party workers, commonners including traders, students and women had filled-up Naidu’s “jholi.”
“People donated even gold ornaments like rings, bangles, earrings and even chains and necklaces as a mark of their commitment to retain Amaravati as the capital city,” Amaravati JAC convenor A Siva Reddy told Hindustan Times.
{{/usCountry}}“People donated even gold ornaments like rings, bangles, earrings and even chains and necklaces as a mark of their commitment to retain Amaravati as the capital city,” Amaravati JAC convenor A Siva Reddy told Hindustan Times.
{{/usCountry}}Reddy said the cash collected during Naidu’s Machilipatnam and Rajahmundry tours were around ₹28 lakh.
Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneswari was the first person to contribute to the ‘Save Amaravati’ fund by donating her platinum bangles on New Year’s Day.
“We are not monetising the gold ornaments as we want to construct a museum in Amaravati and keep these ornaments on display as a tribute to the spirit of women who fought for the capital city,” said Reddy. He added that the cash collected will be used on rallies, bus yatras, legal aid and treatment for the protestors, when needed.
The ruling YSR Congress party accused Naidu of indulging in theatrics. “How dramatic it is to see Naidu collecting money through begging, even after earning so much during his tenure. It is a shameful act and a high drama to lure people and create panic among the Amaravati region,” deputy chief minister K Narayana Swamy said on Saturday.
Another senior YSRC leader and former minister Dadi Veerabhadra Rao said Naidu should have instead given concrete suggestions on the development of the capital region.
“He should be ashamed of such activities. What is the account for the collection of such donations?” he asked.
The JAC leader, however, said every rupee was accounted for. “We are depositing the money collected every day into the bank account of the JAC the following morning. Everything is transparent. It is the people’s money to protect the people’s capital,” Reddy said.