A couple of days after the social media handles of the YSR Congress Party and other activists exposed a major goof-up involving the publication of a farmer’s comments on Bhogapuram International Airport nearly three years after his death, the farmer’s son issued a clarification on Tuesday.
In a video statement, the son said the mistake was his, as he had spoken to an Eenadu reporter during the inauguration of Bhogapuram Airport but had inadvertently provided his late father’s photograph, leading to the confusion.
“My father, Mailipalli Yellaji, played an important role in giving land for the Bhogapuram Airport project. When media persons sought our views, I sent my father’s photograph out of respect. I did not inform them that he had passed away. I never imagined it would create such a controversy,” he said.
He also appealed to the public not to believe what he described as a politically motivated misinformation campaign being spread by social media platforms and media outlets aligned with a political party opposed to Andhra Pradesh’s development.
The controversy erupted after Eenadu published a report during the August 1 inauguration of Bhogapuram International Airport, highlighting the sacrifices made by farmers who had given up their land for the project.
The report reportedly quoted Mailipalli Yellaji as saying that he had given 1.20 acres of land and was happy to witness the airport’s inauguration.
Within hours, YSRCP social media handles shared old reports showing that Yellaji had died in July 2023.
As evidence, social media users circulated photographs posted on the official X account of Jana Sena leader and Nellimarla MLA Lokam Madhavi.
The photographs showed her paying tribute to Yellaji at his residence during post-funeral rituals on July 19, 2023.
The incident triggered widespread debate on social media, with critics alleging that an old interview or archived quotation had been reused without proper verification in a report prepared for the airport’s inauguration.
