The much-publicised public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Guntur on January 6 was postponed indefinitely in view of “unavoidable circumstances.”
Modi was supposed to address a huge rally at the sprawling grounds in front of Acharya Nagarjuna University near Guntur, to rejuvenate the Bharatiya Janata Party cadres in Andhra Pradesh who had been on the defensive mode ever since the party snapped ties with the Telugu Desam Party in the state.
As per the original schedule, he was to address a meeting in Kerala and from there, he was supposed to come to Guntur in the afternoon.
“However, due to some last minute engagements, he restricted his tour to Kerala and postponed Andhra Pradesh tour,” party sources in New Delhi told media, adding that Modi might reschedule his visit to AP to last week of January or February.
Obviously, it was a big disappointment to the BJP leadership in Andhra which was trying to step up its campaign against the Chandrababu Naidu government in the state.
However, intelligence reports are learnt to have indicated to the Centre that it was not the right time for Modi to come to AP in the wake of strong sentiment among the people towards special category status, which is being exploited by almost all the political parties.
“What is more, TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has given a call for protest rallies across the state against Modi’s visit. It might even lead to law and order issue and hence, it is better not to come to AP at this stage. Once the election schedule is announced, it would be safe for Modi to address rallies in the state and convey his message,” sources said.
The decision of Naidu not to follow protocol norms during Modi’s visit is also said to be one of the reasons for the postponement of the latter’s meeting, sources added.