Criticising former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for not attending the national flag hoisting ceremony on Independence Day, the TDP said it was an indication of his frustration after his party’s loss in the ZPTC bypolls in Pulivendula.
The YSRCP suffered a crushing defeat in the bypoll, which was marred by violence and allegations of electoral malpractices in Pulivendula, considered to be the home turf of the Opposition leader.
TDP MLA from Ponnur, Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar, criticized the YSRCP chief on social media for skipping the national flag hoisting ceremony. He said, “It is unfortunate that YS Jagan did not step out even to hoist the national flag … Not hoisting the flag is tantamount to disrespecting the nation, those who fought for Independence and the national flag itself.”
The TDP MLA linked Reddy’s absence to YSRCP’s debilitating defeat in the ZPTC polls in Pulivendula and Vontimitta. While Vontimitta comes under Rajampet, Pulivendula is the Assembly Constituency of the former chief minister. Narendra Kumar said in his post on ‘X’, “The severe frustration caused by the defeat in Pulivendula might be the reason for this. Even so, Jagan’s inability to come out and hoist the national flag reflects his mental state.”
Meanwhile, the Congress criticized the YSRCP for standing with the NDA government along with N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and helping it to pass the Bills in the Parliament instead of joining the Opposition in the demand for a debate on “vote chori”. Congress MP and AICC observer for AP, Manickram Tagore, accused YSRCP of joining TDP in protecting the Modi government. “On the floor of the House, Babu’s party and Jagan’s party stood shoulder to shoulder with the BJP. When Andhra’s democracy is under attack Babu and Jagan choose Modi over the people,” alleged the Congress MP. YSRCP MP M Gurumoorthy in turn alleged that the Congress was following the script of TDP. “Dear Manickram Tagoreji instead of parroting the script handed over by N Chandrababu Naidu, it’s better to start asking the real questions that matter to the people of Andhra Prades