Visakhapatnam: YSR Congress Party president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has sharply criticized the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over the successful no-confidence motion against the Visakhapatnam Mayor, calling it a blatant assault on democratic principles.
In a strongly worded statement, Jagan alleged that the coalition led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had “murdered democracy” by forcibly removing a BC woman mayor, who was duly elected by the people. “The TDP and its allies have ridiculed the public mandate, resorting to inducements, threats, and abuse of power to unseat a democratically elected leader,” he said.
Recalling the municipal election results, Jagan stated that the YSRCP had won 58 out of the 98 divisions in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, while the TDP had secured only 30 seats. He questioned the legitimacy of the new leadership formed by the coalition, asking, “How can the mayoral post now belong to the alliance that failed to secure a majority?”
The YSRCP chief emphasized that his party had given the mayoral role to a woman from the Yadava community, reinforcing their commitment to upliftment of Backward Classes. He accused the ruling coalition of misusing administrative machinery and spending crores of rupees to lure corporators away from YSRCP.
He further alleged that police were used to intimidate his party corporators and even raided the hotel where they were staying after refusing to defect. “We have CCTV footage that shows the collusion between political leaders and the police in these illegal actions. Is this democracy?” he asked.
Jagan accused the government of burying democratic values through unethical political maneuvering. He said the people and divine justice would ultimately hold the ruling coalition accountable. He also praised the YSRCP and Left party corporators who, despite intense pressure, stood firm and upheld the party’s principles.