TDP decries 'Taliban rule' in state : K Atchannaidu

Mangalagiri: TDP leaders on Friday condemned the attack with 'stones and sticks' by the ruling YSRCP leaders on the residence of TDP national president N Chandrababu at Undavalli on Friday.

They accused Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of turning Andhra Pradesh into 'Afghanistan' with ruling YSRCP 'goondas' were behaving like the Taliban. The factionist Chief Minister was responsible for the latest attempt to lay siege to the house of Opposition Leader Chandrababu Naidu, who had also served as chief minister for 14 years and who was in Z plus category security.

In a statement here, TDP state president K Atchannaidu termed as 'atrocious and brazen' the attempt made by the YSRCP gangs to barge into Naidu's house. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was encouraging all these attacks on the opposition leaders by keeping the police under his iron grip. The factionist regime had destroyed the whole state in every way possible in the past two-and-a-half years. "Is it a crime to raise voice against the misdeeds of the government? How can the ruling party leaders attack everyone just for questioning about people's problems?" he said.

Atchannaidu demanded that the AP police immediately arrest YSRCP MLA Jogi Ramesh for masterminding and personally leading the latest attack on Naidu's house. The TDP would take up state-wide agitation if action was not taken against the 'goondas' responsible for the stone pelting at the former Chief Minister's house. The YSRCP 'goondas' had physically attacked and pelted stones on the TDP activists and leaders who tried to prevent them from storming into Naidu's residence.

The TDP leaders termed pelting of stones on Naidu's house as 'murder of democracy'. The police were just watching the attack like silent spectators and they did not make any attempt to stop the YSRCP MLA and others from coming nearer to Naidu's house. Even though the 'goondas' were pelting stones on the TDP leaders, the police did not try to prevent them. On the other hand, the police were manhandling the TDP leaders, who were the victims of the attack, they said.

The TDP leaders recalled that in the past, the police stopped the opposition leaders and public from coming out of their houses when they tried to hold protests over public issues like attacks on Dalits, temples and so on.