TIRUPATI: Telugu Desam president and former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, in a fresh broadside against his political rival said, “The entire state is now divided between its five crore people and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.”
Naidu accused the YSR Congress government of failing on all fronts and dragging Andhra Pradesh into a state of backwardness worse than Bihar.
“AP is in an emergency-like scenario because the Jagan government is esorting to riots and filing bogus charges against the opposition parties out of a fear the public response is leaning towards us,” Naidu told the media in Kuppam on Thursday.
He said the police department should help protect democracy. “False charges are levelled even against judges. Police officers who fail to safeguard law and order are essentially criminals in uniform. We would file private cases against the errant cops and ensure that their families too feel the pain of false cases,” Naidu warned.
The opposition leader said disenchantment against the Jagan government was growing rapidly in the ruling YSRC, particularly among its MLAs. They are coming out openly against the government. ‘On the other hand, the TD public meetings are receiving tremendous response. This is the reason why frustration is growing in the chief minister,” Naidu said.
Continuing his tirade against state minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Naidu alleged that the latter was extorting money from granite quarries and frightening the owners with threats of hefty penalties.
Naidu urged them not to be afraid of such intimidation tactics and avoid making any payments.
The TD chief said the people would no longer accept Jagan’s government. “He plans to win all 175 seats by claiming to work for the welfare of the people, but he also happens to be the richest chief minister in India. He has fortunes more than the combined assets of all chief ministers. He has amassed thousands of crores through corruption,” Naidu alleged.
Earlier, interacting with the party cadre, Naidu said it has become a habit for Jagan to file cases against TD leaders. He advised his partymen to face them boldly and work hard to enable the party to capture power. Naidu suspected that a conspiracy was being hatched to intimidate TD activists in Kuppam.
Meanwhile, the police lodged non-bailable cases against several TD supporters in connection with the disturbances during Naidu’s visit in Kuppam assembly constituency on Wednesday. Some 50 party members have been booked. At least three FIRs were filed at Rallabuduguru police station.
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