Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing a spate of political violence after the elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly.
Published Jul 21, 2024 | 11:04 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 21, 2024 | 11:04 AM
N Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (X)
Three days after a YSRCP activist was hacked to death in public on a busy road near the Mandlamandi bus station in Vinukonda in the Palnadu district, former chief minister and party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to take the fight to Delhi.
At a YSRCP parliamentary party meeting convened at his Tadepalli residence near Vijayawada on Saturday, 20 July, Jagan told his MPs to make a big issue of the deteriorating law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan said Sheikh Rashid’s murder at Vinukonda on Wednesday, 17 July, was the acme of atrocities being perpetrated by the Telugu Desam Party.
He wanted the MPs to bring to the attention of the entire nation by inviting all parties to a protest he intended to undertake in Delhi on coming Wednesday, 24 July.
The protest, Jagan said on Friday, “is to draw the nation’s attention to the lawlessness and anarchy that have plagued Andhra Pradesh in the 45 days since the Chandrababu Naidu regime has come to power”.
The YSRCP supremo asked his MPs to raise their voices in both houses of Parliament and condemn the murders, attacks, and property destruction happening in the state.
“We aim to bring national attention to these atrocities,” he said.
Jagan said the escalating violence and lawlessness in the state warranted the imposition of President’s Rule and it would serve as a stern warning to those responsible, particularly Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He added that YSRCP would also organise protests during the Assembly sessions, during the Governor’s address on the day of commencement of the Budget session of the Assembly in Amaravati on Monday, 22 July.
The former chief minister said the state government had failed miserably in maintaining law and order and the Vinukonda murder exemplified the degree of brutality prevailing in the state.
The brutal incident was a deliberate attempt to send a message of fear to YSRCP members and supporters. The YSRCP president pointed out that the government, with the help of media that toes its line, was trying to distort facts related to the Vinukonda incident.
He said the YSRCP never resorted to violence despite winning 86 percent of the seats in the 2019 Assembly elections and ensured transparent governance, delivering schemes to everyone irrespective of their political affiliations.
The YSRCP chief said the party must stand by its followers and workers and protect them from any harm and added that the safety and support of party workers were of paramount importance.
We will be holding a peaceful protest in New Delhi on the 24th of this month, the coming Wednesday. This is to draw the nation’s attention to the lawlessness and anarchy that have plagued Andhra Pradesh in the 45 days since the Chandrababu Naidu regime has come to power.
We have…— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) July 19, 2024
Later speaking to reporters, YSRCP’s Rajya Sabha member Alla Ayodhya Ramireddy said that the party was seeing the recent wave of violence as an axe striking democracy. He urged all parties to condemn it in one voice.
It was imperative that the reign of terror should stop forthwith, or it would spiral out of control. He said the one who received the blow would not forget, he said in a veiled indication that the YSRCP may be forced to retaliate.
The lawmaker said the YSRCP was inviting leaders of all parties, including the BJP, to the protest site as it believed that the issue transcended the confines of the political parties.
“We expect everyone to turn up at the camp and condemn the resurging wave of violence in AP. We are setting up a photo gallery at the protest camp, depicting the TDP violence in the state,” Ramireddy added.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
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