The sudden apology tendered by Gannavaram MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan to Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari for his alleged comments against her came as a surprise to political pundits.
Vamsi, who defected from the Telugu Desam Party to the ruling YSR Congress party in October 2019, expressed regrets for his remarks against Bhuvaneshwari while participating in a debate conducted by TV9 television channel on Wednesday night.
He admitted that he had made certain comments against Bhuvaneshwari, which he said were definitely in poor taste.
“I made those comments in a slip of tongue and I should not have spoken like that. For that matter, anybody should not make such comments assassinating the character of women,” he said.
Stating that he always treated Bhuvaneshwari with respect and called her “akka” (elder sister), Vamsi said before he had realised the mistake, the damage had already been done.
“Now, I sincerely apologise to Bhuvaneshwari garu and all those who were hurt by comments. I am not saying this because the Kamma community is angry with me. I tender my apology from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
The apology from Vamsi was really surprising, because till the other day, he and his minister-friend Kodali Venkateshwara Rao alias Nani, had been denying of making any such comments against Bhuvaneshwari and daring the TDP leaders to prove them from assembly records.
Now that Vamsi admitted to having really made the remarks, the allegations of the TDP leaders have been proved true. But why then has Vamsi admitted his mistake all of a sudden?
There are reports that Vamsi had to express regrets over his remarks, after the Kamma community decided to ostracise Vamsi from the community forever. Some Kamma leaders have also reportedly announced a price on his head.
But more than that, sources said Vamsi had backtracked following an advice from YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Apparently, Jagan has received a feedback from the intelligence department that the comments made by Vamsi against Bhuvaneshwari has created a negative image of the party among the women after the TDP leaders successfully took the issue into the people.
In Gannavaram constituency itself, Vamsi’s image has reportedly gone down sharply after his comments. This is the reason why the chief minister asked him to tender an apology to Bhuvaneshwari. At the behest of the chief minister, TV9 channel conducted a debate and Vamsi used it as a platform to tender apology.
“Everything was pre-planned. Now, the YSRC leaders say the chapter is closed, so that they can turn tables on the TDP leaders demanding their apology on the comments made by Pattabhi and others against Jagan,” sources said.