Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary Day 5: People Are My Biggest Source Of Strength

Proddatur, November 11: My Padayatra on Thursday ended at 10 pm. After having dinner, I immediately set out for Hyderabad at 10.45 pm. I traveled all night and covered 450 km in order to reach Hyderabad well before day break. It was 4 am and I did not have any time to rest. By 10 am on Friday, I was in the court. I began my return journey straight from the court complex itself. It was 11 pm when I reached Yerraguntla, my camp site. My Yatra began at 8.30 am on Saturday in right earnest. Why I had to trek all night and attend the court is all too well-known to the people of the state for me
to recount here.

The masses of this state know fully well how the Congress Party – then in power both at the Centre and in the State – had hatched political conspiracies to foist cases and troubled and tormented me for the last seven years. The TDP has marshaled men and the media under its command to literally wage a war on me. Even now, they are bringing pressure on the investigating agencies and are intent on curbing and curtailing the right of the Leader of the Opposition to meet the common people.As someone who loves the country, respects its laws and the judicial system, I shall forge ahead regardless of all these impediments.

As I was about to set out on my Padayatra today, a seemingly endless tidal wave of public support and unconditional love greeted me. This unstinted love and support
of the masses is like a ray of light dispelling the dense darkness around me. The moment I saw the effusion of light and hope of the expectant crowds, my weariness and fatigue vanished into thin air. Enthusiasm gushed forth afresh. I saluted the all-powerful force of the people and began my trek.

People of neighbouring villages trooped in, not in small numbers, but in thousands shower ing their affection. They walked with me some distance. Farmers, women, youth and senior citizens are joining the yatra in unbelievably huge numbers. They are pouring out their woes to me all along the way. People from the Valmiki Boya community met me and lamented that they have long been demanding inclusion in the ST category. I assured them of getting a resolution passed in the Assembly and forwarded to the Centre. I told them I would fight sincerely to exert pressure on the Centre.

Expressing my sincere respect to them, I assured them that I would allocate one MP ticket to the community. The community leaders recalled angrily that Chandrababu had reneged on the election promise of including Boya and Rajaka communities in the ST list. Members of the staff of the 108 Services, the brainchild of my late father, too met me. They are still getting the same salary of Rs 10,000 that was fixed a decade ago. There was no pay hike of even a single rupee for them all these years. Appallingly, even that pittance is not being paid for the past few months. There is paucity of much-needed life-saving medicines, diesel and tyre replacements for the ambulances. They explained to me about the sorry state of affairs of the ambulance in Yerraguntla. I assured them that I would restore YSR’s flagship initiative of 108 service to its old glory once Rajanna Rajyam becomes a reality.

Till evening, I met several such delegations drawn from all sections of society. The public meeting at Proddatur in the evening was historic. The turnout was unbelievably
large. On Saturday, I walked 13 km and rested on the outskirts of Proddatur town for the night.

As I conclude, I have a poser for the Government I had challenged
Chandrababu Naidu to prove my role in Paradise Papers. Why is there no response till now? Will you care to explain the acts of omission and commission on the part of your
proxy or benami Sivaramakrishna Prasad, whose name had figured in the Panama Papers?