A statement by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Palla Srinivasa Rao on the Cockroach Janta Party has triggered speculation that the TDP is seeking more from its senior ally, the BJP. In his statement issued on Monday, Srinivasa Rao said the CJP social media movement reflects the aspirations and concerns of India’s youth and should be taken seriously by policymakers. He added that its emergence signals the need to continuously recalibrate policies to align with the expectations of young people.
This marks a deviation from the broader BJP and RSS narrative that the CJP is an effort backed by foreign forces.
The BJP and its allies have been making statements aimed at discrediting the social media-fuelled youth movement. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju remarked that CJP's social media handles have followers from Pakistan. The government also invoked youth movements in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and sought to denounce the movements rather than address the criticism raised by the CJP. The BJP appears to believe that conceding the validity of the demands would amount to an admission of defeat.
The TDP’s statement, which appears sympathetic to the youth's anger, comes as a surprise, as the party is generally not known to deviate from the BJP’s position. Even on contentious issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and parliamentary seat delimitation, the TDP stood firmly with the BJP, and the two parties have so far shown no visible differences. Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan’s “pro-Hindu” statements have been welcomed not only by the BJP but also by the TDP. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has also portrayed the Tirupati laddu issue as an attempt to hurt Hindu sentiments. Cooperation between the state and Centre has also been comparable to that seen in BJP-ruled states, with both parties often describing the arrangement as a “double-engine” government.
Why then this sudden deviation, even on what appears to be a relatively minor issue? This is where the speculation begins. A few days ago, Hyderabad-based political commentator Prof. K. Nageshwar said “highly placed sources” had told him that Pawan Kalyan, along with leaders of his party, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and demanded the arrest of YSRCP leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. However, according to Nageshwar, Amit Shah described Chandrababu Naidu as an “instant friend” and Jaganmohan Reddy as a “loyal friend” and refused to entertain the demand. Prof. Nageshwar made these remarks while discussing the support extended by both the TDP and YSRCP to the BJP.
The Jana Sena Party (JSP), led by Kalyan, condemned Prof. Nageshwar’s comments. An FIR was filed against him at Indrapalem police station in Kakinada district on the night of May 21. A few more FIRs were subsequently filed in different districts. Though Prof. Nageshwar initially maintained that he was not obliged to reveal his sources and sounded defiant, he later withdrew his comments. BJP national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader T. Harish Rao appealed to the Andhra Pradesh government to withdraw the cases since the professor had retracted his remarks. However, no cases have been withdrawn so far. At the same time, the government also did not proceed with his arrest.
Interestingly, neither the BJP nor the TDP confirmed or denied whether the JSP had sought the arrest of the YSRCP leader. The JSP leadership also dismissed the anecdote but stopped short of directly denying it. A few days later, the TDP issued a statement that differed from the BJP’s stand on the CJP issue. Taken together, these developments have raised questions about whether the BJP’s allies are seeking something from their senior partner, particularly regarding the arrest of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
When THE WEEK contacted Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT and Education, his team responded that the minister had no comments to offer on the party president’s statement regarding the CJP issue. On the question of whether there had been any demand for Jaganmohan Reddy’s arrest, they said Lokesh had no specific comments.