Chandra Babu Naidu condemns attack on Andhra CM, demands impartial inquiry

New Delhi:  The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president Chandrababu Naidu has condemned the attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and demanded the Election Commission of India (ECI) for an “impartial and unbiased” inquiry into the incident.

Taking to X, the former Chief Minister said, “I strongly condemn the attack on @ysjagan. I request the @ECISVEEP to initiate an impartial and unbiased inquiry into the incident and punish the responsible officials.”
https://twitter.com/ncbn/status/1779209867066282228?t=_bAbvattcEUXIpoitk3zfA&s=08
On Saturday evening, CM Jagan was left with a deep cut above his left eyebrow, narrowly missing his eyes, after an unidentified person hurled a stone at the chief minister during the ‘Memantha Siddham’ bus yatra in Vijayawada, said sources.

#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy got injured during the Memantha Siddham Bus Yatra, yesterday.

According to YSRCP, an unidentified individual pelted a stone at the CM, injuring him on his left eyebrow. His security team was alerted and it rushed him to the bus… pic.twitter.com/dYYM0OvuDE

— ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2024

The party sources further informed that the CM was immediately administered first aid on the bus and CM Jagan continued his bus journey after receiving first aid, they added.

Meanwhile, the ruling YSRCP leader and the party’s candidate for the upcoming assembly polls from the North constituency, KK Raju, on Saturday led a protest against the alleged stone pelting at the Chief Minister at Vijaywada.

Leading the line at the protest along with hundreds of supporters of the ruling party, Raju, who is also the chairman of the Non-Conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (NREDCAP), staged a sit-in and chanted slogans condemning the attack on the chief minister.
Claiming that the principal Opposition force in the state, the TDP, along with its NDA partners, the BJP and the Jana Sena Party of actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, orchestrated the stone pelting, the YSRCP leader told reporters, “The TDP and its allies (BJP and JSP) were behind this attack. They pelted stones at Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s convoy.”

State IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath also condemned the attack on CM Jagan Reddy in Vijayawada during the ‘Memantha Siddham’ roadshow.
“YSRCP activists all over the state and the supporters of Jaganmohan Reddy all across the world have come out condemning this attack on our CM. If you (TDP) think that Jagan is scared of Chandrababu (TDP party chief and former CM N Chandrababu Naidu) and the old-fashioned attacks orchestrated by him and his allies, you are mistaken. The TDP, which was responsible for the murder of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga in the same Vijayawada area, orchestrated the stone pelting at CM Jagan today,” the minister alleged.

Significantly, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), BJP and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) announced earlier that it would contest the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state jointly. The state has 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 assembly constituencies.

The assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled to be held simultaneously on May 13, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.
For a party to form the government on its own in the state, it is required to win 88 of the 175 assembly seats.