Rule of Law Has Taken Backseat: Jagan Targets Naidu
The rule of law has taken a backseat, and the rule of fear is prevailing. People are now scared to even go to a police station: Jagan
Tadepalli (Andhra Pradesh): Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Chandrababu Naidu-led government, alleging that the state has a prevailing atmosphere of "rule of fear", while the rule of law has taken a "backseat".
He claimed that people were now afraid to even approach police stations. Addressing a press conference in Tadepalli, Reddy said, "During our tenure, discussions were centred around welfare. Under Chandrababu Naidu's rule, discussions are now focused on the Red Book constitution and custodial deaths. Everywhere, people are talking about the topic of diversions being created by Chandrababu.”
“The rule of law has taken a backseat, and the rule of fear is prevailing. People are now scared to even go to a police station," he said.
Earlier, Reddy strongly criticised the Andhra Pradesh government for jeopardising the livelihoods of nearly 85,000 women engaged in cooking mid-day meals in government schools. In a post on X, he stated that the government is using the proposed "Smart Kitchens" initiative as a pretext to benefit its own supporters while pushing thousands of women workers, many of whom have served for over two decades, into uncertainty and unemployment.
Jagan pointed out that the government has also failed to pay these workers their salaries for the past two months, further worsening their financial hardship. He recalled that when the YSRCP assumed office, the honorarium for mid-day meal workers was increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 per month, and stated that the present government had promised to do even more for them before the elections.
Instead, he said, it is now attempting to remove them under the guise of the Smart Kitchens policy, leaving thousands of women without a livelihood.