The decision of the YSR Congress party MPs to resign from their parliamentary membership demanding special category status to Andhra Pradesh proved to be a master stroke, but unfortunately their plan to go on indefinite fast has not been able to generate the same kind of response from the media.
The indefinite fast, which began on April 6, entered fourth day on Monday and already, three of the five MPs landed in hospital due to ill-health.
While Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy fell sick on the second day itself and was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital immediately, it was the turn of Tirupati MP V Varaprasada Rao to get admitted to the hospital on day 3.
And on Monday, Ongole MP Y V Subba Reddy was down and he was forcibly shifted to hospital.
All the three are now being administered with IV fluids, which does mean their fasting has come to a virtual end. Only two young MPs – P Mithun Reddy from Rajampet and Y Avinash Reddy from Kadapa are still actively following the fast.
Unfortunately, the media which has evinced interested on Day 1, has started ignoring the fasting camp at AP Bhavan from the second day itself.
There has not been much coverage in any of the local media, let alone national media, except of course in Sakshi, the media house of YSRC chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
Instead, the national media gave much coverage to TDP MP’s attempt to lay siege to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s house.
The reason is simple: people have stopped taking seriously these indefinite fast or fast-unto-death programmes as they know the leaders would finally end up in hospital and would be forced to withdraw their fasting.
In any case, the centre will not succumb to such pressures because it is a matter of prestige for it.
It would have been better had the YSRC MPs planned a bigger programme of agitation, rather than following the out-dated plans like indefinite fast.
