Jagan Mohan Reddy voices concern over 'deteriorating' law and order in Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati, Aug 22 (IANS) YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday expressed deep concern over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh, attributing the ongoing attacks to the encouragement of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. 

Alleging that deliberate efforts are being made to create fear and confusion among the public, the former Chief Minister recalled that when his YSRCP was in power, they never encouraged such events and claimed that the primary focus of their governance was fairness and integrity, with no place for corruption or bias.

In his remarks at a meeting with the YSR Congress Party's legal cell representatives, Jagan Mohan Reddy condemned the "unethical governance" of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. He deprecated the disturbing trend of declining law and order in the state referring to how those in power are using "red books" to create chaos and target specific individuals, with a focus on destruction and framing false cases.

This practice is now trickling down to all levels, with individuals at constituency, mandal, and village levels opening their own “red books” to carry out such destructive activities, he claimed.

He stated that former minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy was being targeted by the government with false cases, using unrelated incidents such as fire accidents in offices. He mentioned that in today’s era of digitalisation, it made no sense to accuse someone of burning papers, as all data is stored electronically in servers and hard drives. He highlighted that this was part of a broader strategy by those in power to deflect blame onto others, using false charges as a means to target opponents.

He also raised concerns about the ongoing lawlessness, where attacks on political workers are seemingly encouraged, with authorities providing protection to the wrongdoers. He mentioned instances where opposition members faced violence, while the government turned a blind eye and media outlets carried out misleading stories to deceive the public. The YSRCP chief mentioned the importance of the legal community’s proactive involvement. He urged lawyers to take the initiative in bringing these issues to the attention of the courts, as without such efforts, justice would not be served.