Jagan using the police to quell all forms of protest in Andhra Pradesh, alleges CPI

‘Police and authorities are threatening teachers not to participate in the September 1 rally in Vijayawada’

In a scathing attack on Chief Minister, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was not practising the democratic form of governance but indulging in ‘Police Rajyam’, as he was using the police force to quell all forms of protest.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, after the completion of the 27th State Conference of the party, Mr. Ramakrishna said, “The CM had himself said that he would remove the CPS (Contributory Pension Scheme) within one week after coming to power and restore the Old Pension Scheme. But 150 weeks have passed and he is continuing with it. If he cannot do it, he should come out  openly and apologise to the teachers and say that ‘He cannot do it’. But instead of that he is using brutal police force to quell the agitation.”

He alleged that the police and the authorities concerned were threatening the teachers and urging them not to participate in the September 1 rally at Vijayawada. They are threatening to impose a fine to the extent of ₹2 lakh if they participate. It is learnt that the leaders are being put under house arrest and the vehicle registration books of the teachers, who have cars and vehicles, are being seized to dissuade them from travelling to Vijayawada. These moves can be termed draconian and anti-democratic, Mr. Ramakrishna said.

“What is wrong in allowing them to undertake a peaceful rally or protest on the BRTS road to register their demands?. Protest cannot be stifled with force. We condemn such a move and extending full support to the teachers,” said Mr. Ramakrishna.

Criticising the YSR Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party(TDP), he said that both the parties have about 30 MPs in Parliament, but have failed to bring forth the issues of the State or talk ‘tough’ or negotiate objectively with the Union Government . “They have failed to get the Special Category Status. They have failed to get the required funds for Polavaram and get the national project completed on time. If they cannot negotiate with the Union Government forcefully and only work to get their interests served, they will go down in history as ‘opportunistic leaders’ and will be thrown out by the people of the State,” he said.

Mr. Ramakrishna alleged that Mr. Jagan has put the State into financial doldrums by incurring debts of over ₹9.4 lakh crore. Every year, the State is paying around ₹50,000 crore as interest on the debts and this is pushing the State towards bankruptcy, he said.

Speaking about the just concluded State conference, he said that 53 resolutions have been adopted and the primary focus is now on uniting all democratic and secular parties onto one platform and fighting the BJP-RSS combine in the 2024 general elections.