A series of protest rallies and dharnas by the YSR Congress party led by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has angered the Telugu Desam Party leaders and cadres at the ground level, though chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has not been taking them seriously.
The TDP leaders are irritated because when they were in the opposition, the then Jagan Mohan Reddy government used to crackdown on them and get them arrested, whenever they took to streets to protest against the highhandedness of the YSRCP.
Senior TDP leader and Tadipatri municipal chairman J C Prabhakar Reddy on Monday requested that Naidu should not allow the YSRCP leaders to take out rallies and stage dharnas. He was referring to the YSRCP leaders’ protest against increased electricity charges.
He alleged that Jagan himself had raised power charges several times during his regime, but had never given any opportunity to the opposition TDP to protest then.
“You should ensure that Jagan should not come on streets in the name of protests,” JC brother said.
The former MLA said because of Naidu’s lenient behaviour, the YSRCP leaders were able to come onto the roads within five months.
“His kindness has tied our hands," said JC said, targeting YSRCP leaders.
Reacting to the allegations made by former minister Perni Nani accusing the police of harassing women in his house out of vengeance, the TDP leader from Tadipatri recalled how the family members of Naidu were crying when the YSRCP government was harassing him.
"Without considering Chandrababu Naidu's age, your goverment arrested him in Nandyal at midnight. Didn't you hear Bhuvaneshwari, Lokesh, Brahmani, and their relatives crying that day?” he asked.
JC brother pointed out that cases were filed against Minister Kollu Ravindra and Atchannaidu. You all celebrated that day.
“You repeatedly said Pawan Kalyan married four times. He stayed silent because he's a good man. Where would you be if he had retaliated?” he asked.
Prabhakar Reddy also pointed out that he was imprisoned for 120 days.
“Do you know the suffering I endured? When cases were filed against us, didn’t we have wives, sons, and daughters-in-law? And now you talk about women?” he asked.
JC said false cases had been filed against him in the past, and he had been growing a beard since then, promising to shave it off the day he is cleared of those charges.
