Hyderabad: From brazen assault on government staff to corruption and indecent behaviour with women, TDP lawmakers are embroiled in one controversy after another, leaving Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu annoyed with the “troublemakers.”
Such has been the cascading effect, which the opposition YSRCP paints as “a disturbing picture of the ruling party’s leadership”, that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo is said to have expressed extreme displeasure twice within a week over the the bad press received by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration.
For the uninitiated, Naidu takes pride in claiming the TDP as a disciplined party that heads the coalition having the brute majority of 164 seats in the 175-member Assembly. What may be affecting Naidu further is the fact that the trouble comes from within his party ranks, instead from the opposition party that has barely 11 MLAs in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
At a time when Naidu has been trying to focus on completing Amaravati capital, Polavaram project and reinstate Andhra Pradesh as an investment destination, these controversies have been giving a headache to him.
As such episodes showed no signs of ebbing, TDP insiders told ThePrint that Naidu expressed extreme displeasure after the cabinet meeting on Thursday and again on Saturday during a consultation with senior leaders over formation of Lok Sabha constituency committees.
The latest of the upsetting incidents is of TDP’s Srisailam MLA Budda Rajasekhar Reddy, who is booked on charges of abduction and assault of forest department staff at a Nallamala check-post on Tuesday night. The staff charged Reddy and his men of wrongfully confining and threatening them with dire consequences for objecting to their patrolling and checking of vehicles.
The footage of the alleged assault, near to the famous Srisaliam temple, was shared widely on social media. A case was registered, two days later, against the MLA of using criminal force against a public servant discharging official duty, and causing simple hurt, wrongful confinement.
YSRCP leaders Katasani Rambhoopal Reddy and others alleged that MLA Budda “in a drunken state, unleashed unprecedented brutality against public servants from SC, ST, and minority communities, used caste abuses, and kept them confined for hours at a guesthouse.”
Demanding non-bailable charges and strict legal action, they also sought the suspension of Budda from the TDP immediately “if he is serious about justice.” The MLA is accused of such behaviour with some prominent businessmen too at Atmakuru.
The Andhra Pradesh Joint Forest Officers Association demanded immediate intervention of deputy chief minister and environment and forests minister Pawan Kalyan and urged Naidu to initiate disqualification proceedings against Budda.
Meanwhile, Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and Gudur MLA Pasam Sunil Kumar are accused of recommending parole for a rowdy-sheeter, A. Sirkanth.
After a public outrage, the home department revoked the parole and shifted Srikanth back to jail on 12 August. However, the YSRCP is demanding an inquiry into Home Minister ’s Anitha Vangalapudi role too in granting parole to notorious rowdy sheeter and life convict.
“What is more troubling is the Home Minister approving the file and placing criminals’ well-being above public safety,” YSRCP SC cell state working president Kommoori Kanakarao said, alleging that Anitha’s recommendation involved substantial financial transactions and misuse of power. He also demanded the minister’s resignation.
The ruling party is also rocked by back-to-back scandals of its MLAs allegedly harassing and behaving indecently with women.
Few days ago, a TDP woman worker attempted suicide outside Guntur East TDP MLA Naseer Ahmad’s office, alleging that the legislator has an extramarital affair with another woman. She accused the police of harassing her family.
The storm originates from a viral video clip in which the MLA in a call with a woman, was allegedly making obscene gestures. On his part, Ahmad dismissed it as AI-generated to defame him politically.
“Ahmed’s disgraceful act, caught on video, has embarrassed the assembly. Later, in a shocking twist, he also harassed another woman whom he suspected of exposing the incident, pushing her into such despair that she attempted suicide,” the YSRCP said.
In another such incident, a woman school principal in Amadalavalasa held a press meet Saturday and accused TDP MLA Kuna Ravi Kumar of harassing her physically and mentally for months now, “forcing her to stay late on pretext of meetings, making inappropriate night-time video calls, and causing unbearable humiliation.”
She also reportedly attempted suicide, which the YSRCP says is “a tragic reflection of the abuse of power by elected representatives from ruling party.”
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Friction, fight
Another controversy was triggered when Anantapur TDP legislator Daggubati Venkateswara Prasad allegedly made derogatory remarks against Telugu actor Jr NTR, ahead of the release of the star’s movie ‘War-2’ on 14 August.
Daggubati made offensive remarks, in a phone call that went viral, on Jr NTR while threatening to stall the release, screening of the movie across his assembly constituency.
Offended fans have protested at the legislator’s office, tore down his banners, seeking apology from him. As the outrage spread, Daggubati released a video apologising to the fans and claiming that the voice was not his and that the leak was a conspiracy. Even on Sunday, Jr NTR fans tried to lay siege to the MLA’s office in Anantapur.
The friction underscores the widely rumoured family feud between Jr NTR and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, who is also the father-in-law of Naidu’s son and minister Nara Lokesh.
A few years back, when the TDP was down, Jr NTR was projected by some sections within the TDP and the Kamma community as the right person to lead his grandfather NT Rama Rao-founded regional party. The TDP leadership jitters arise from the possibility of that argument surfacing again.
TDP insiders told ThePrint that apart from Naidu, party national general secretary Lokesh too took a serious view of the MLAs causing embarrassment for the party. Ahead of the cabinet meeting last week, Lokesh broached the issue of all the above raging controversies caused by the MLAs.
“He warned that such leaders, legislators bringing disrepute to the party would not let go off lightly from now on,” a party functionary told ThePrint.
In his meeting with party seniors on Saturday, CM Naidu responded seriously to the MLAs’ undesirous deeds, affairs. “Seniors are well aware of the party rules, traditions and discipline but the problem evidently is with the newcomers into party, first-time legislators stepping out of line,” the CM remarked, according to an aide.
The TDP supremo, since the 2024 landslide victory till now, is understood to have summoned and counselled about 35 MLAs including some of the above mentioned and those accused of illegal mining, extortion from contractors, and other money amassing activities.
Those who faced Naidu’s ire earlier include Tiruvuru MLA Kolikapudi Srinivasa Rao for crossing the party diktats on a few occasions, landing in controversies.
On the offensive, the YSRCP is showcasing the series as a disturbing pattern within the TDP, “wherein in a span of a few days, multiple MLAs stand-in crimes ranging from corruption and misuse of authority to direct attacks on officials and indecent acts toward women.”
It also accused Naidu ally and JanaSena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan of remaining silent “to a disturbing trend.” “Power is being abused without accountability and women’s dignity, officials’ rights, and public trust are trampled upon with impunity. Naidu has lost all grip on governance and his own party,” Sake Sailajanath, a former minister and senior YSRCP leader, said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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