VIJAYAWADA: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has launched a sharp attack on former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, calling him a ‘betrayer of the Kapu community’ and accusing him of spreading Pulivendula’s faction culture across the State.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat, Ramanaidu said that in the history of Kapu reservations, only two chief ministers had truly benefited the community - N Chandrababu Naidu and former Dalit leader Damodaram Sanjivayya.
He recalled that while Neelam Sanjiva Reddy had scrapped Kapu reservations during British rule, Sanjivayya later restored them, only for Kasu Brahmananda Reddy to cancel them again.
Ramanaidu alleged that Chandrababu Naidu, without affecting BC quotas, had granted 5 percent reservation to Kapus under the EWS category, which Jagan subsequently revoked, branding him a betrayer in the community’s history.
Ramanaidu further accused Jagan of attempting to divide society along caste and religious lines after the YSRCP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
He charged that Jagan had deliberately provoked Kapu leaders into mistakes, sent them to jail, and then shed “crocodile tears” over their plight, thereby trapping them permanently in his political orbit. He alleged that YSRCP had turned into a ‘factory producing criminals,’ while the TDP was nurturing genuine leaders.
Highlighting TDP’s record, he noted that leaders like Padmanabham, Yarra Narayanaswamy, Thota Seetharamalakshmi, Vanga Geetha, C Ramachandraiah, and Sana Satish were elevated to the Rajya Sabha to honour the Kapu community.
He contrasted this with Jagan’s preference for his close associates such as Vijay Sai Reddy, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, and Mithun Reddy, sidelining Kapus.
Ramanaidu also pointed out that TDP had respected Kapus by appointing leaders like Chadalavada Krishnamurthy, Adikesavulu Naidu, and Pappala Chalapathi Rao as TTD chairman, while Jagan gave the post only to his loyalists.