Police personnel detain people after the house of YSRCP leader and former minister Jogi Ramesh was allegedly vandalised and set on fire by a mob, in Ibrahimpatnam, NTR district, Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
Credit: PTI Photo
Hyderabad: A day after YSRCP senior leader and former minister Ambati Rambabu's house was vandalised and ransacked in Guntur, former minister Jogi Ramesh's residence in Vijayawada suffered a similar attack on Monday as it was ransacked, damaged, and partially set on fire.
Rambabu's home was targeted by TDP cadres on Saturday and Sunday over his derogatory comments against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu; he was later taken into custody. Similarly, after Ramesh made objectionable remarks against IT Minister Nara Lokesh, a large mob descended on his Ibrahimpatnam house, destroying household articles and hurling petrol bombs triggering panic in the locality.
YSRCP has demanded deployment of central forces in Andhra Pradesh, citing "unabated politically driven arson and vindictive attacks" on opposition leaders.
YSRCP Kurnool President SV Mohan Reddy accused the coalition government of vindictiveness, claiming TDP "goons" were allowed to take the law into their own hands under top leadership's direction, with police as "mute spectators". He said that the attacks lasted six hours in a planned manner, yet central intelligence "took no notice suggesting endorsement by coalition partners."
YSRCP State Coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that the recent chain of incidents in Andhra Pradesh reflects a dangerous pattern of organised political violence carried out under police watch. He said the attack on former minister Ambati Rambabu’s house by TDP cadres took place despite police presence and that the entire state witnessed how an “organised TDP mob” operated freely in Guntur. He criticised senior police officials for being unreachable even during emergencies and said that when leaders, including a former woman Home Minister, tried to meet the SP, they were made to wait on the road.
Jogi Ramesh said that his life and the safety of his family are under threat from minister Nara Lokesh and also said that Lokesh should be held fully responsible if any harm comes to them in the future.
Reacting to these incidents, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the criminalisation of politics has been the core culture of the YSRCP, and lawlessness was a hallmark of its tenure. “We established the rule of law in 2024. Our culture is empowerment and service to the people. Even in opposition, they are resorting to abuse out of desperation, as they are being exposed with each passing day. They are unhappy and frustrated to see everything they once destroyed being rebuilt. However, the law is supreme, and we must uphold the law and order we have established. We will not allow anyone to violate the rule of law,” said Naidu.