Is Desecration Of Ambedkar’s Statues A Crude ‘By Poll’ Strategy?

The desecration of five Ambedkar statues in the villages near Amalapuram in East Godavari District at one go raising many doubts.
Interestingly, by poll is impending in Ramachandrapuram Assembly segment , which is a part of Amalapuram Parliamentary Constituency ,with the possible disqualification of the sitting legislator and an important congress leader Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, who is sailing with YSR Congress Party.
Keeping the certainty of the poll in view, some aspirants have lined up for congress ticket to compete Bose, who is sure to file nomination on YSR Congress Party ticket. Thota Trimurthulu, an ex-MLA is a forerunner among them. While Bose hails from a BC community, Trimurthulu hails from a dominant landowning social group. Scheduled Castes’ votes are pivotal for success in the segment, as their number is considerably high.
After the demise of Y.S.R, most of the Dalits and Dalit Christians in this segment have expressed their sympathies with his son Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy . If the Congress wants to gain back them into its field, the party has to field a candidate, who has pro-Dalit image. But the foremost aspirant Trimurthulu had bad reputation of charge sheeted for tonsuring Dalits in his native village in 16 years ago. To scuttle his chances of getting Congress ticket, his rivals must have hatched the heinous plan of desecrating Ambedkar’s statues, grapevine goes.
Those who believed to have plotted the crime should have anticipated that Dalits’ ire might create an atmosphere, where the congress would keep aspirants of anti-Dalit image at bay.
Another theory goes that this could be the fall out of inducting two PRP legislators one social strata into state cabinet. The top congress leaders in the district, particularly from the downtrodden couldn’t digest this development. To throw the blame on one social group in the district, some purportedly resorted to this dastardly act.
As some Dalit outfits allege, this could not have been the act of mere communal hatred. This must be the handiwork of the people, who have vested political interests, local media persons believe.
Satish Chandar