An all-party meeting organised here on September 23 (Saturday) under the aegis of Jai Bheem Party (JBP) president J. Sravan Kumar strongly condemned the alleged persecution of leaders of the opposition parties by the YSRCP government, with specific reference to the arrest of TDP national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the alleged skill development scam case.
Addressing the gathering here, Mr. Sravan Kumar said the government was determined to stifle the voice of the Opposition as the general elections were nearing, and after Mr. Naidu’s arrest in a “false case,” the stage appeared to be set for the detention of his son Lokesh too.
He said arresting a party president six months before the elections was deplorable. It should not be seen as only the problem of the TDP but as a threat to democracy itself, as norms were being violated in a blatant manner.
“Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dictatorial style of functioning is evident. If his party is not defeated in 2024, the State will slip into deeper trouble,” Mr. Sravan Kumar cautioned the people.
TDP official spokesman K. Pattabhiram said people could see facts related to the case in which Mr. Naidu was sent to jail, on a website created by the party and decide for themselves whether the scam was real and if Mr. Naidu would ever stoop to take kickbacks as it was being baselessly alleged by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
He questioned why Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was running away from courts if he was innocent in the slew of quid pro cases pending for more than a decade.
Former Minister K.S. Jawahar, Jana Sena Party leader Gade Venkateswara Rao, CPI’s Akkineni Vanaja, CPI(M)‘s M. Sitaram and Navataram Party president Subramanyam were among others who took part in the meeting.
The meeting also resolved to meet again after one week and chart the future course of action against the government’s “autocratic rule.”
