Tension prevailed in Kuppam and surrounding areas of Chittoor district on Friday, following the alleged suicide of a senior YSRCP leader, Parthasarathy (51), who was also former chairman of local Tirupati Gangamamba temple, which is scheduled to celebrate its annual “jatara” (mass festival) in a couple of weeks.
The annual event, notorious for animal sacrifice, draws a crowd of about six lakhs at the tri-State junction.
While Parthasarathy ended his life by jumping before a train on the outskirts of Kuppam on Thursday morning, a video of him blaming “three scribes” and “one person” for his extreme step appeared late at night, and went viral, leading to a tense atmosphere.
Parthasarathy was appointed the chairman of the temple before the COVID pandemic. The temple trust board could not celebrate the jatara in the last two years. Now that the pandemic’s threat was over, the trust board embarked on arrangements to celebrate the event on a grand scale.
However, in a swift move, Parthasarathy was dropped and a new chairman was nominated to the board. Seemingly hurt by the development, the outgoing chairman allegedly took the extreme step while the swearing-in ceremony was going on.
The Government Railway Police at Kuppam registered a case and handed over the body to the family members on Friday.
Charges
In the video, Mr. Parthasarathy said that he had to spend ₹15 lakh for getting the post of temple chairman, and another ₹20 lakh for giving a facelift to the temple. He said he had requested senior party leaders to retain him till the “jatara” of 2022, but in vain.
In his last words, he reportedly referred to the title “Peddayana” (which is generally used for the YSRCP’s strongman in the erstwhile Chittoor district), and said that no one had helped him. He claimed that he was in a rundown state as he had to pay huge interest for the debts he had incurred so far.
Protest
The episode led to a protest from members of the Valmiki community, to which Mr. Parthasartahy belonged, from Kuppam and the surrounding regions.
Expecting a law and order problem, additional police forces were deployed in Kuppam from Palamaner and Chittoor. “Four circle-inspectors took up the bandobast duties in Kuppam with additional forces. As of now, the situation is under control,” a senior police officer said.
The Kuppam circle inspector said that at present the case was with the GRP police. “An assurance was given to the family members that steps would be taken to register criminal cases under IPC Section 306 against the persons named by the victim,” he said.
Chittoor MP N. Reddappa rushed to Kuppam and paid tributes to Mr. Parthasarathy, and took part in the funeral, besides announcing an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh to his kin.
Political angle
Meanwhile, the development is largely seen as a big turning point in Kuppam politics. A section of the ruling party cadres deplored that Parthasarathy’s suicide had exposed the monopolised politics in the region and the hardships of cadres vying for prominence, spending huge amounts for getting party and nominated posts, and ending up in tragedy.
“We feel sorry for him as he was with us before joining the YSRCP. Now, the people of Kuppam will realise the ‘use and throw’ politics of the ruling party leaders,” said a senior TDP leader in Kuppam.
