Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has promised to distribute Swift Dzire cars among unemployed Brahmin youth. Earlier, Chandrababu Naidu had also promised to distribute 14 million smartphones.
The chief minister will distribute 30 Swift Dzire cars among unemployed Brahmin youth on Friday at his camp office in Amravati. The distribution is being done under a self-employment program. Though it doesn’t seem to be a self-employment program by any means but a blatant attempt of Brahmin appeasement.
According to the scheme, the Brahmin Welfare Corporation will provide a maximum of Rs 2 lakh as subsidy and the beneficiary has to bear 10 per cent of the cost of the vehicle. The remaining amount will be provided by the Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Cooperative Credit Society as a repayable loan in monthly installments. The corporation sanctioned 50 cars in the first phase.
This is not the first instance of appeasement by the veteran politician. Earlier, Andhra CM has increased the financial aid that is given to the Christian pilgrims to travel to Jerusalem from Rs 40,000 to Rs 75,000 per person. In what can be seen as an attempt of promoting conversions, he also promised to put efforts to ensure SC status to Dalit Christians. As if it was not enough, he announced to set up Rs 100 crore fund for land acquisition and construction of burial grounds for Christians in Andhra Pradesh. According to New Indian Express report, Chandrababu Naidu made all the aforementioned announcements aimed at appeasing Christian community in the Christmas celebrations organized at St Paul’s Basilica Church in Vijayawada.
In another instance, the seasoned politician has declared that couples who have more than two children will be offered incentives. This is a particularly bizarre declaration in a country which has been battling overpopulation for decades. Naidu has also repealed those rules which prohibited those having more than two children from contesting local body elections. This appears more like an appeasement device for there is no element of comprehensible logic behind this absurd declaration.
Naidu’s long list of appeasement doesn’t end here. In what one can call the ‘paragon of pacification’, Chandrababu Naidu has announced the construction of a grand mosque of international standards to be built in the capital Amravati. He said, “The mosque will be built on an area of 10 acres under the supervision of the State Waqf Board.” He further added, “There should be a mosque in the architectural style of Mecca Masjid (of Hyderabad) and it should become a major tourist attraction.”
It seems that Brahmin appeasement is the hot topic at the moment, prior to the general election of 2019. In its pursuit to woo Brahmin voters in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP started a campaign to touch the feet of Brahmins. The latest scheme of Chandrababu Naidu seems to be an extension of the same modus operandi.