YSRCP's central office on 'illegally occupied' land demolished
The under-construction office building of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Tadepalli, Guntur district, was demolished by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) early Saturday. The building was built on land allegedly occupied illegally and was razed despite a high court order to halt demolition activities. YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has now condemned the actions of the Chandrababu Naidu-led state government, accusing it of escalating vendetta politics and likening the demolition to dictatorial actions.
YSRCP accuses government of ignoring high court order
In a statement, the YSRCP said that the demolition operation began early Saturday morning, "even though the YSRCP had approached the High Court the previous day, challenging the preliminary actions of the AP CRDA (Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority)." "The Court had ordered a halt to any demolition activity, an order conveyed to the CRDA Commissioner by the YSRCP's lawyer. However, the CRDA proceeded with the demolition, potentially amounting to contempt of court," the party added.
Video of demolition
YSRCP chief accuses TDP of vendetta politics
Reddy also took to his X account, writing, "Chandrababu has taken his Damanakanda to another level by resorting to political partisan actions in Andhra Pradesh...The orders of the High Court were ignored." He suggested that this incident indicates how governance will be under Naidu's leadership in the future. On Friday, YSRCP Guntur district president M Seshagiri Rao had filed a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court to prevent any action against the building until a hearing is completed.
Demolition may draw further legal scrutiny
The YSRCP statement added that the CRDA's defiance of the high court's directive may now draw further legal scrutiny. The demolished structure was prepared for a slab before being razed, the party added. Reddy concluded his post by saying, "We will fight hard on behalf of the people, for the people and with the people. I request all the democrats of the country to condemn the misdeeds of Chandrababu."
Row over furniture
Before this incident, a row had also erupted between the YSRCP and Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over furnitures. The TDP, which trounced the YSRCP in the recent state assembly election, called Reddy a "furniture chor" (thief), accusing him of retaining taxpayer-paid furnitures and fittings worth crores at his residence-cum-camp office in Tadepalli. The Naidu party also accused Reddy of building a ₹500-crore "hilltop palace" in Visakhapatnam as a camp office.
