‘‘I am a builder,’’ the 58-year-old introduces himself. Just over 20 years ago, he was better known as the leader of the peasants’ upsurge in Jagitial and Siricilla taluks of Karimnagar district, the movement that subsequently expanded the base of the now-banned People’s War (PW) throughout Andhra Pradesh.Mukku Subba Reddy, variously founder-member, state secretary and central committee member during his 20-odd years with the group, surrendered to the state in March 1989, one of the first top underground PW leaders to do so. He was followed by scores of other senior leaders and hundreds of ordinary cadre. Some of them went on to join hands with the police in attacking their erstwhile colleagues.But Reddy was happy with the state government’s gift of Rs 1 lakh — it was the price on his head — and 300 sq yds of land. ‘‘With my friends’ help, I built an apartment block on the land. I own two flats here. Now I am building an apartment complex in the Borabanda area of Hyderabad,’’ says the engineering student who dropped out of REC Warangal to join the CPI(ML) in 1968.Reddy may have abandoned his friends, but he continues to believe in their struggle. ‘‘The situation is much worse now than it was in 1969,’’ he says agitatedly. ‘‘Unrest has increased.’’So why did he return to the mainstream? ‘‘I was close to PW patriarch Kondapalli Seetaramiah (KS), in fact I helped plan his jailbreak in 1984. But after that, we fell out with each other. I told my senior comrades, including Ganapathi, the present PW supremo, that I wanted to leave the party. Since I was in charge of the party finances, it took some time to hand over my responsibilities and finally leave.’’Though he claims to have lost touch with the party since then, Reddy continues to be keenly interested in all related developments, including the aborted talks between the PW and the government. ‘‘I blame the police entirely for the breakdown of talks. But the PW, too, should not be so rigid. After all, the people are not ready for armed struggle,’’ he says.With his only son now a BTech student, Reddy keeps his original passion alive through his association with farmers’ agitations in his native Ganesipalli in Prakasam district.
