VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday raised several questions on the “drama” surrounding the attack on YSRC leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and suggested that it was part of a conspiracy scripted by the Centre in collusion with the Telangana government and the Opposition party to destabilise the State and impose President’s rule.
Speaking at a press conference late in the night, he wondered how could the YSRC find fault with the State government when an avowed fan of Jagan had attacked him and accused the Opposition leader of behaving irresponsibly. “The accused has confessed that he is an admirer of Jagan and that he had carried out the attack so that his idol could get sympathy... looking at the sequence of events, everything is happening as actor Sivaji had predicted. This is BJP script,” he said.
“First of all, the airport is under Centre’s control. The incident happened right under the nose of the CISF. The case was not handed over to the State police till 4.30 pm by the CISF when the incident happened around 12.34 pm. Even the knife was not handed over. The Opposition leader left for Hyderabad irresponsibly. It is a criminal case. He should have gone to a government hospital, filed a complaint with the police... how could the airline and the CISF allow an injured person board the flight? After landing in Hyderabad, he goes home. He was smiling after the attack. Later, someone from Delhi might have advised him, so he checked into a private hospital. Have you looked at the photos of him in the hospital? It’s pathetic. All this looks like a drama,” Naidu observed while adding that he was condemning the attack but not endorsing the irresponsible behaviour of Jagan.
He took exception to Governor ESL Narasimhan’s call to DGP RP Thakur. “How could the Governor bypass the government and talk to officials? Can he talk directly to the DGP when the Chief Minister is here. This Governor is happy sending daily reports to the Centre against the State government. What is the Governor’s jurisdiction? There should be a debate on the institution of Governor,” he said.
The CM also objected to the Telangana leaders’ behaviour pointing out that their silence when cyclone Titli struck AP was in stark contrast to the alacrity with which they responded on the attack on Jagan.
“KCR (Telangana CM), KTR (KCR’s son) and Kavita (KCR’s daughter) were mum on Titli victims but responded today. Why? Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and Jagan don’t talk against the Centre and now, KCR has joined their ranks,” he alleged, opining that their behaviour and the sequence of events point to a larger conspiracy against the State.
He went on to warn the Centre and the YSRC that their dramas wouldn’t be tolerated. He also questioned why YSRC activists were coming on to the roads. “Do you want to destroy the State? Why should such people be in politics? They are trying to instigate the people. More details in this drama will come out soon,” he said and in an unusual outburst, thundered, “You should feel ashamed... The attacker clearly stated that he is a Jagan supporter and his family too said they support YSRC.
The airport is under CISF control and now CISF claims it is not responsible. Then whose responsibility is it? It is entirely the failure of the Centre,” he stressed. The CM, citing Operation Garuda revealed by actor Sivaji, an alleged BJP plot, said it was coming to true and asserted that Delhi conspiracies won’t work in AP.