Impose President's rule in AP, save state from drug mafia: Chandrababu Naidu urges Kovind

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has urged President Ram Nath Kovind to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh “to rescue its people from state-sponsored terrorism and unchecked drug mafia.”

The former chief minister has met with President Kovind in New Delhi on Monday, along with his party MPs, other leaders, and submitted a memorandum on “the rising excesses of the Jaganmohan Reddy government and police in the past two and half years.”

The TDP has been accusing YSRCP leaders and legislators of being involved in the ganja-drug trade and a disparaging remark made by TDP leader K Pattabhi Ram in this regard has led to the vandalism of TDP's central office in Mangalagiri last Tuesday.

Naidu sat on a 36 hour fast last week in the damaged office condemning the attacks by YSRCP supporters. The issue has aggravated the political tension in the state, with the ruling party also staging counter protests.

“Wherever ganja (cannabis) was seized in the country, its roots are traced to AP mafia. The police of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra etc are all blaming AP gangs of smuggling drugs into their states. If Article 356 (President's rule) is not invoked now, the AP mafia would get emboldened and spread their activities to more states. That would pose a serious threat to national security and integration," Naidu later told reporters.

Naidu has appealed to the Narendra Modi government for a thorough investigation “into AP links of the drug mafia in the country.” “While the 3,000 kg heroin seized at Mundra port was linked to a firm with Vijayawada address, in another case it was found that drugs were being exported from Andhra to Australia. They were seized in Bengaluru,” Naidu alleged.

Naidu also sought a CBI inquiry into “the unprecedented attacks on the TDP main office in Mangalagiri, Visakhapatnam, Hindupur, Anantapur, Nellore, Srikalahasti and the residence of Pattabhi Ram.”

Accusing the state DGP Gautam Sawang of “becoming part and parcel of the unbridled state-sponsored terrorism” Naidu demanded that the senior IPS officer should be recalled.

“The vandal attacks on the TDP offices could be carried out only with active connivance of the state police. The DGP joined hands with the CM to make one-sided arrests and to create a fear psychosis among all sections of the society,” Naidu charged.

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