Vijayawada: Water resources minister Ambati Rambabu, former minister and YSR Congress MLA Kodali Venkateswara Rao and other leaders came down heavily against the Telugu Desam on Thursday, saying it was spreading lies against the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government vis-à-vis the Gannavaram incident.
They claimed that the TD and its friendly media tried to mislead the public by releasing some “old photos”, but the social media exposed such conspiracies. “The AP people will teach a befitting lesson to TD in the 2024 elections,” they said.
Rambabu warned of dire consequences if the pro-TD media failed to make amends. He said a vernacular daily published false news and old photos of 2021, creating an impression that these were of the present Gannavaram clash related to Pattabhiram. “This media company should give an explanation and correct the error in 24 hours. If it fails, the state government will initiate legal steps against the false news and unrelated photos.”
Terming Kanna Lakshminarayana as an unethical politician, he said the YSRC has no objection if Kanna shifts his loyalties to the TD for his political livelihood. “If he continues to abuse Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, we will not tolerate him,” he said.
MLA Nani said the state government would not remain quiet if the TD and its friendly media tried to tarnish the image of the YSRC government with false propaganda. “It was the TD spokesman K. Pattabhiram who attacked the police and not the other way round. But, the TD leaders are trying to derive political mileage by attributing “casteism” to the incidents there.”
He said the TD-friendly media published fake news and pictures to show that Pattabhiram was beaten up by the police. “This cannot be a technical error but is a pre-planned conspiracy to discredit the government.”
On Chandrababu Naidu’s visit to Pattabhiram’s house after the clashes, Nani asked why Naidu visited only Pattabhiram’s house and consoled his family members when eleven other party leaders from backward communities were also arrested. “Was this visit because Pattabhiram belongs to the same community as Naidu’s,” he asked.
