Filial love for a politician in power is one thing and pervasive reverence for “people’s President” APJ Abdul Kalam, who had spent most of his working life as a teacher-cum-guide and even died literally while giving a lecture, is quite another. Sometimes babus vying to prove themselves more loyal than the king can land the Chief Minister in a soup.
Due to political compulsions, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy had to step in and mend matters after an overacting bureaucracy chose to rename an award named after Kalam to "YSR Vidya Puraskar".
An order issued on Monday declared the "APJ Abdul Kalam Pratibha Puraskar" would be renamed as the "YSR Vidya Puraskar". The awards are handed out to mark National Education Day on 11 November — the birth anniversary of freedom icon Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The awards include scholarship for schoolchildren who excel.
Within a day of the punar naamkaran, the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government had to scrap the order in view of attacks by critics, public uproar and political backlash, including a biting tweet by former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Tweeting the State Government notification, Chandrababu Naidu lashed out at the Chief Minister using the hashtag #YSRCPInsultsAbdulKalam. "Dr. Kalam has accomplished much for the nation with his pioneering work and inspiring life. Jagan's Government changing 'APJ Abdul
Kalam Pratibha Puraskar" to "YSR Vidya Puraskar" is a shocking method of self-aggrandisement at the cost of disrespecting a much venerated man. Shameful!!", tweeted Mr Naidu.
On Tuesday morning, officials said Chief Minister Jagan Reddy, after the name-change came to his notice, ordered it revoked, and "warned" that awards should be given in the names of Dr Kalam, Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar.