Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday compared YSR Congress Party president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy with Columbian druglord-turned-politician Pablo Escobar.
“We have heard of politicians being afraid of criminals and mafia leaders. But the people of Andhra Pradesh had seen how the situation would be if a criminal himself becomes a party president and the chief minister in the last five years,” Naidu said, releasing a white paper in the state assembly on the law and order situation in the last five years and the way forward.
He said that he had been in politics for four-and-a-half decades but had never witnessed a situation in the state as it was during the last five years of Jagan regime. “I can only compare him with one person – drug lord Pablo Escobar,” he said.
Naidu recalled how Pablo Escobar, a narco-terrorist of ‘70s, turned politician and then started his cartel to sell drugs. “He earned US $30 billion at that time, which is worth $90 billion now. He was arrested in 1976 and in 1980 he became the number one richest drug lord in the world,” he said.
Naidu said Escobar had become an MP of Columbia Parliament in 1982. When the US tried to arrest him again, he escaped and later killed the then law minister. “In 1985, he attacked the Supreme Court and killed 11 judges,” he pointed out.
{{/usCountry}}Naidu said Escobar had become an MP of Columbia Parliament in 1982. When the US tried to arrest him again, he escaped and later killed the then law minister. “In 1985, he attacked the Supreme Court and killed 11 judges,” he pointed out.
{{/usCountry}}The CM said like Escobar, Jagan, too, sought to grow richer using his criminal brain. “He wanted to become richer than Tatas and Ambanis. Few have needs, few have greed and few have mania and these maniacs do these kind of things,” he added.
He further said during the Jagan regime, Andhra Pradesh had turned a “ganja capital” in the country and ganja was available in every single village. The then chief minister had never addressed this issue even once, he criticised.
Naidu alleged that the YSRCP leaders used to “terrorise people” when they were in power. “They had never left any section of the society from their atrocities. Even judiciary and media were attacked. With the help of some selfish police officials, the YSRCP leaders unleashed a reign of terror in the state and those who didn’t succumb to their diktats were denied posting for years together,” he said.
The CM explained how the Jagan government victimised the opposition party leaders, foisted cases against them and pushed them behind bars. “Majority of the MLAs sitting in the assembly today had faced criminal cases during his regime,” he said.
Listing out the number of cases filed against the political opponents during the YSRCP government, Naidu said as many as 2,560 cases were filed against the TDP leaders and around 2,600 leaders and workers were arrested; 205 cases were filed against Jana Sena Party (JSP) leaders and 73 cases were filed against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
Naidu further said that the YSRCP had committed “atrocities” against over 300 people from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in the state. “Several instances of killings and harassments were reported during their tenure,” he said.
“A doctor who had demanded supply of adequate masks during the Covid-19 pandemic was suspended and arrested, by branding him as a mad man in Visakhapatnam. A lower court judge from Chittoor who questioned the highhandedness of a YSRCP minister was harassed and false cases were filed against him,” he pointed out.
He also recalled how YSRCP MLC Ananta Satya Udaya Bhaskar had murdered his own car driver in 2022 and delivered the dead body at the doorstep of the victim.
The chief minister vowed to restore law and order in the state and make it the most peaceful state in the country. He warned that stern action would be taken against anybody, including those from the ruling party, if they tried to take law into their own hands.
He remarked that any signs of rowdyism across the state would be met with a strong response, reinforcing a message of zero tolerance towards such activities.
YSR Congress Party reacted strongly to the allegations made by Naidu in his white paper on the law-and-order situation during the Jagan regime.
While announcing that Jagan would address a press conference to give a detailed rejoinder to the state government’s white paper, the YSRCP took to X to launch a counter attack on Naidu.
“It is surprising how the chief minister could release such a white paper with blatant lies when he, himself, has miserably failed to protect the law and order during his regime, which is known to everybody in the state,” the party said.
The YSRCP pointed out that Andhra Pradesh was among the top states which witnessed the highest number of attacks on the SCs and STs during the Naidu regime between 2014 and 2019. “In fact, the number of attacks on the weaker sections had come down during the Jagan government. It was reported by the National Crime Records Bureau itself,” it said.
The opposition party also pointed out that the number of murders, atrocities and suicides by farmers and agriculture labourers had declined significantly during the YSRCP regime, compared to the previous TDP rule. “Even rapes and atrocities on women have come down remarkably during the Jagan regime due to innovative initiatives taken by the government like establishment of Disha police stations,” it explained.