Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has always been on the look out for one issue or the other to target YSR Congress party and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
On Tuesday, Naidu found yet another issue to attack Jagan and his government. It was a government order (GO Ms No. 78) of the School Education Department, which was issued last evening by the government to continue payment of awards to meritorious students in Class X.
The only difference is that the name of the award has been changed from “APJ Abdul Kalam Pratibha Puraskaram” to “YSR Vidya Puraskaram.”
That has now become an issue for the TDP and Naidu to criticise the Jagan government. Since morning, the TDP social media groups have been spreading the news with hashtag #YSRCPInsultsAbdulKalam across the state, questioning the decision to rename the scheme after YSR by removing Kalam’s name.
Naidu tweeted: “Dr Kalam has accomplished much for the nation with his inspiring life. @ysjagan’s govt changing “APJ Abdul Kalam Pratibha Puraskar” to “YSR Vidya Puraskar” is a shocking method of self-aggrandizement at the cost of disrespecting a much-venerated man. #YSRCPInsultsAbdulKalam.”
Well, it has been a policy decision of the chief minister to name every scheme concerning the people in the name of his father and former chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, as he has already promised to bring back Rajanna Rajyam in the state.
He wished that the people should remember his father while enjoying the benefits of every scheme.
“That does not mean insulting former President of India and missile man A P J Abdul Kalam. We have full respect towards Kalam, but as a part of the policy of naming the welfare schemes of YSR who introduced several schemes for students, the government named the award after the former chief minister,” a YSRC leader said.
