For quite some time, Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy, which are known for their pro-Telugu Desam Party stand, have been giving huge coverage to the statements of retired IAS officers and experts from Brahmin community, criticising the Jagan Mohan Reddy government on financial policies and welfare schemes.
These two papers are deliberately choosing retired IAS officers and politicians from Brahmin community for interviews and are playing up their comments prominently on front pages.
Ironically, these Brahmin celebrities – like Vundavalli Arun Kumar, IYR Krishna Rao and L V Subrahmanyam -- were also critical of Naidu government in the past, but the two dailies had never given so much importance to them, as they are doing now.
This was pointed out by Brahmin MLA of YSR Congress party Malladi Vishnu from Vijayawada (Central). He wondered whether these dailies remember Brahmins only when Naidu was not in power.
He was referring to an interview carried by Eenadu daily with former Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subba Rao making critical comments on the welfare schemes that would ruin the economy of any state.
“Though Subba Rao did not make any direct reference to Andhra Pradesh or Jagan Mohan Reddy government, Eenadu gave the headline in such a way that he is criticising the Jagan government,” Vishnu said.
He wondered why Eenadu or Andhra Jyothy were not airing the comments of Kamma intellectuals, instead of Brahmin intellectuals.
“They seem to have the freedom of expression to distort others’ comments, highlight the favourable comments and use the comments to criticise the anti-TDP government,” he said.
Vishnu said none of these pro-TDP dailies or then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu were ever bothered about the Brahmin community.
“Naidu never gave any party ticket to a Brahmin candidate. He insulted Brahmin IAS officers like Subrahmanyam and Krishna Rao,” he pointed out.
He said these dailies give prominence to only anti-government comments of Vundavalli or IYR Krishna Rao.
“Their only objective is to malign the government by distorting the comments of these intellectuals,” he said.