Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday slammed the NDA government in the state, accusing it of unleashing a “jungle raj” after the residences of two former ministers were attacked allegedly by supporters of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Less than 24 hours after TDP supporters allegedly attacked the house of former minister and YSRCP leader Ambati Rambabu, another incident of violence was reported on Saturday. The residence of former minister and YSRCP leader Jogi Ramesh in Ibrahimpatnam was attacked, with furniture set on fire, allegedly by TDP supporters.
According to the YSRCP, the attack followed Ramesh’s unsavoury remarks against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh. Ramesh, however, was not present at his residence at the time of the incident. The party alleged that the police remained mute spectators while the miscreants vandalised the property.
On Friday, Ambati Rambabu’s house was also attacked allegedly after he used unparliamentary language against Chief Minister Naidu. Rambabu was arrested and taken into custody later that night.
Condemning the incidents, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the prevailing situation in Andhra Pradesh reflected a “jungle raj” and accused Chief Minister Naidu of running a barbaric and vindictive administration. He alleged that the law and order situation in the state had collapsed and that attacks were being carried out to silence those questioning the government.
The former chief minister further accused the ruling dispensation of misusing the police machinery to shield its own actions and enable political attacks on opposition leaders.
The political confrontation between the YSRCP and the TDP has intensified over the final chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Tirupati laddu adulteration case. The YSRCP has taken an aggressive stand, citing the chargesheet to counter allegations made by Naidu.
In the final chargesheet, the CBI stated that there was no presence of beef tallow or lard in the ghee used for preparing the Tirupati laddu prasadam, contradicting claims of “animal fat” contamination.