People's Democracy

Maoist Intellectuals  Sing the Praise of Y S R

When YSR died in an aerial mishap, every body condoled the death and paid tributes. But not surprisingly, it provided another occasion to expose the dual face of Maoist �intellectuals�. It all started when N Venugopal, nephew of Virasam leader Varavararao, who is an important leader after his uncle, narrated his close association with the late chief minister in a graphic way. Venugopal who is also a journalist stated that Y S R has shown him the other face of a factional politician. He recalled how warmly Y S R took his case when he was arrested. The Maoist writer who is utterly opposed to �parliamentary politics� also confessed that his organisation did the electoral survey for YSR before the last election. Suffice it to mention in conclusion, Venugopal fondly recalled the karasparsa (hand shake) of Y S R. Even as the article shook some people  Ranganayakamma, noted writer came down on the duplicity of  his credentials. Pani representing Virasam distanced from the article and announced his suspension. Later Venugopal apologised in the same paper in a round about manner and Ranganayakamma once again attacked this so-called apology. One more senior journalist associated with Virasam also clarified his tributes to Y S R that led to confusion. One organiser of an NGO did the same and published an explanation.

       To cap it all, Vangapandu Prasadarao, a balladeer known like Gaddar, retuned his famous song on Srikakulam struggle in praise of Y S R. Again it led to serious criticism, but he struck to his position. Several readers through letters to the newspaper lament the fall of revolutionary phrase mongers but it is no surprise given their track record. The recent example being Lalgarh. One more interesting point is, Vanaja, a close companion of  Venugopal received  an award for her story on Jnatana sarkar in Dankaranya,   from the hands of none other than  prime minister Manmohan Singh who incidentally declared  Maoist extremism as the main danger facing the nation. Though it happened sometime ago, the line up is there for everybody to see. Isn�t it?