The war of words between leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the ruling YSR Congress has escalated. After the demolition of Praja Vedika, a convention hall built by TDP leader and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu abutting his rented residence, a notice was stuck on the gates of Naidu’s home. Also, security for the former CM has been scaled down.

The State government and Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy have made it clear that 20-25 “illegal structures” on the banks of the Krishna in the capital region will meet the same fate as Praja Vedika as they had been built in violation of the River Conservation Act.

However, senior TDP leader and MLA Atcham Naidu said it was a vindictive move by the Government and “in fact the required permissions were taken and the NALA tax for conversion of agricultural land on the river bank to other purposes was also paid. What is more interesting is that the permissions were given when the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, father of Jaganmohan Reddy, was the Chief Minister of the State.”

N Lokesh, MLC and son of the former CM, tweeted in Telugu: “The present Chief Minister, facing no less than 11 serious charges of economic offences, wants to prove to the world that like him everybody else is steeped in corruption. In fact, his father, the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, made futile attempts to implicate my father in several cases, but he failed miserably. Jaganmohan Reddy’s efforts will meet the same fate.”

Security concerns

There is also an uproar over the scaling down of security to the former chief minister.

Varla Ramaiah, a senior TDP leader and a former police officer, said, “Security is based on threat perception. Right now, our leader, N Chandrababu Naidu, faces a greater threat than even the Chief Minister. In fact, an attempt was made on his life by Left wing extremists in 2004 near Tirupati, but fortunately he escaped with minor injuries. Scaling down security to a former CM, facing such serious threats, smacks of vindictiveness. We will hold the Government responsible, God forbid, if anything happens to our leader.”

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