VIJAYAWADA: Alleging that there was a conspiracy behind the attack on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, along with YSRC MLA Malladi Vishnuvardhan and others submitted a representation to the Election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officer, seeking action against TDP supremo N Chandrababu and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan for making provocative statements.
Speaking to mediapersons on Sunday, Sajjala alleged that the attack on Jagan was pre-planned. He accused the Opposition of orchestrating the cold-blooded attack and termed it a cowardly act.
Lashing out at the TDP leaders and party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu for dubbing the incident a drama, Sajjala sought to know if the attack on Naidu at Alipiri was also a drama.
“We do not enact dramas like Naidu. Does he have any sense to say that it was a stage-managed attack. Will anyone get himself attacked on a body part as sensitive as an eye?” he asked.
Citing the murderous attack on Naidu, who was at the time the chief minister, at Alipiri in 2003, the YSRC leader recalled that the then Opposition leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy had observed a silent protest to extend solidarity to Naidu after the incident.
“However, Naidu used the attack to gain sympathy and went for early elections,” he pointed out.
Alleging that the Opposition is troubled by the success of Jagan’s Memanta Siddham bus yatra, Sajjala remarked, “The manner in which TDP leaders are claiming that the attack is a drama shows that they are behind it.”
Asserting that Jagan won’t be demoralised by these kind of attacks, the YSRC leader said the Chief Minister will continue his yatra from Monday.
“The attack was an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear and stop Jagan from taking up the yatra further,” he alleged.
He said Naidu began instigating the TDP cadre as he was unable to accept the fact that the YSRC’s poll campaign was receiving good response in coastal areas also. Further, Sajjala played video clips where the TDP supremo asked the people to attack Jagan with stones.
Stating that the YSRC leaders initially thought that Jagan sustained a minor injury and that some miscreant might have thrown the stone from the ground, Sajjala said, “If the stone would have hit the CM’s eye, he would have lost sight. If he would have sustained an injury on his temple, the issue would have been worse. We suspect that a slingshot or an air gun might have been used.”
NSG protection sought for CM
Following the incident on Saturday, the YSRC has reportedly sought the Central government to provide NSG protection for the Chief Minister. Currently, the State police takes care of Jagan’s security