Amaravati, Oct 19 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday accused YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of opposing the CEC because the poll body “doesn’t do what he says”.
Addressing a press conference at his residence in Undavalli, the chief minister said, “Earlier you (Jagan) supported the CEC (appointment procedure), but now since they (EC) do not do what you say, you oppose. Now you are saying Gen Z… Gen Z”.
Naidu’s remarks come a day after the former CM on Sunday regretted supporting the 2023 legislation on selecting the Chief Election Commissioner when his party was in power in the state.
“The YSRCP president came from Bengaluru, held a three-hour press conference and met the State Election Commissioner (SEC). What was his conduct at the SEC’s office? He took his own media channels along and broadcast the meeting live,” said Naidu.
During the previous government, the then SEC was forced to write to the Centre seeking protection, Naidu claimed, adding that when the SEC reported large-scale irregularities in local body elections, he was criticised instead of being supported.
He alleged that the YSRCP president staying in Bengaluru was engaging in acts of lawlessness and visiting Andhra Pradesh occasionally to hold press conferences before returning.
The YSRCP is willing to do anything and commit any crime to secure political power, he alleged. The party creates disturbances and then attempts to shift the blame onto him, claimed Naidu.
The CM criticised Jagan’s recent comments that arresting CJP leaders will not solve anything and that “trust in the electoral process” must be restored. The CM said he didn’t understand the rationale behind Jagan’s approach.
Naidu wondered whether Gen Z should go with parties like YSRCP and others to allegedly spoil their future. He claimed that people with emotions and aspirations are being misled and called it the “work of YSRCP”.
“They will encourage a person to commit a crime, then they will secure his release and then encourage them to do a bigger crime, and over a period of time they will be made big criminals; that is their sign,” he alleged, alluding to YSRCP.
He called for “this culture to go away,” noting that it will become a problem when political parties allegedly patronise such a culture.
“You have seen me for 45 years; I do not allow any rowdy to approach me or sit. I have a character; I do values-based politics,” Naidu asserted.
While the TDP-led NDA coalition government is working for development, the YSRCP is working for destruction, Naidu claimed.
Recalling local bodies polls during the previous government, Naidu alleged that 24 per cent MPTC and 19 per cent ZPTC positions were filled unanimously compared to only two per cent MPTC positions and 0.09 per cent ZPTC positions being filled through that route in 2014.
“The previous YSRCP government had abused power and ushered in a law to disqualify opposition candidates in the local body polls,” and liquor bottles were planted in their homes, Naidu alleged.
“Back then, opposition parties were not allowed to file nominations. Nominations were not allowed to be filed in Pulivendula. Today, various parties filed nominations in Kuppam, Pithapuram and Pulivendula,” he asserted.
The TDP chief also alleged that YSRCP “believed in violence back then and now and has become a factory to produce criminals”.
Naidu said the alleged atrocities of YSRCP will be tackled by the government as well as by TDP politically, and he claimed, “violence is in the DNA of YSRCP.”
According to the CM, the Rayalaseema region in the southern state lost 70 years to ‘factionalism’, and he compared Jagan to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, apart from levelling other allegations.
The next 20 years are crucial for Andhra Pradesh, and we must curb violence and keep criminals away from public life and politics, he said.
Naidu also played a video showcasing the alleged violence unleashed by the YSRCP during the ongoing local body polls and during the previous YSRCP government.
Further, Naidu accused the previous YSRCP government of diverting funds from local bodies and spending only Rs 2,000 crore on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) when other states had “drawn Rs 1 lakh crore” under this scheme.
Naidu appealed to the people of the state to exhibit the same spirit displayed during the 2024 polls to vote for the coalition candidates in the ongoing local body polls.
Observing that the southern state has the Centre’s support, Naidu said that for development he needs people’s support in the form of votes in the local body polls.
The CM also listed out the achievements of the coalition government over the past two years.
(PTI News)
