YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday slammed the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for fabricating a conspiracy out of the boat mishap at Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada.
Hitting back at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the allegation that the boats that collided with the barrage belonged to YSRCP leaders, the former chief minister said the boats involved had been granted permission during the previous TDP regime and were even used in the TDP’s victory celebrations.
Former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy also claimed that the boat owners had been engaged in illegal sand mining under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu for the last four months.
On the arrest of two persons in connection with the incident, Jagan claimed that Komati Rammohan was a relative of Komati Jayaram, head of the TDP’s NRI wing while Ushadri, has been photographed with TDP leader and minister Nara Lokesh.
The YSRCP chief was talking to media persons outside Guntur Jail after meeting party leader and former MP Nandigam Suresh, who was arrested last week in a case relating to the attack on the TDP’s office four years ago.
Jagan assured Suresh that the party would stand by him in every way, following his arrest in a wrongful case, encouraging him to stay strong during this challenging time.
Jagan termed the arrest of the former Dalit MP as illegal and stated that the state had never witnessed such a blatant misuse of power.
He criticised the Chandrababu Naidu government for making arrests when the state was in the grip of chaos due to severe rains and floods.
He said that Chief Minister Naidu’s mismanagement and negligence caused the deaths of nearly 60 people during the floods.
Jagan highlighted that despite the recent floods, the government tried to distract the public by arresting important people, like the former MP and husband of Vijayawada’s Deputy Mayor, in the middle of the night on September 4.
Mentioning that the flood relief efforts by Chandrababu Naidu were a complete failure, Jagan said the TDP government has been using arrests as a diversionary tactic to cover up its shortcomings, particularly in handling the four-year-old TDP office case.
The former chief minister pointed out that even though TDP spokesperson K Pattabhi Ram had insulted the then chief minister in public with derogatory language, no personal vendetta was indulged in by the then government. Instead, legal procedures were followed, and notices were issued according to the law.
Jagan stated that neither Nandigam Suresh nor the Deputy Mayor’s husband were involved in the incidents related to the TDP office.
He said that investigations, including CCTV footage, would prove this, yet arrests were being made using false statements to frighten and manipulate witnesses.
He alleged that the TDP coalition government was focussing on destruction, lawlessness, and intimidation rather than governance.
He criticised the government for not taking preventive measures despite receiving early flood alerts, accusing Chandrababu Naidu of criminal negligence that caused around 60 deaths and calling for legal action against him.
He slammed a section of the media for spreading false propaganda, refuting claims that faulty rain gauges misled Chandrababu about rainfall data, and clarified that the state had advanced sensor systems, including 450 new ones installed by the previous YSRCP government, ensuring accurate data collection.
Jagan also flayed the TDP for resorting to violence and intimidation. He mentioned the attack on a former MLA’s vehicle and the attempt to prevent YSRCP leaders from reaching out to flood-affected farmers.
Jagan stated that these actions were a temporary tactic to silence public outrage but reminded the TDP that they would not be able to suppress the voice of the people for long.