Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 22: Within days of the party being ousted from power, an under-construction central office of the YSR Congress Party, which till June 4 was the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, at Tadepalli in Guntur district was on Saturday demolished on the grounds that it was an illegal construction being carried out on the government irrigation department land.
A political row has erupted in Andhra Pradesh over the demolition with the YSRCP president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy calling it a “dictatorial act” of his successor N Chandrababu Naidu and vowing to carry on the fight against the Vendetta politics of the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) government. The demolition, which was carried out by the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation (MTMC) using excavators and bulldozers, began after a notice from the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) citing unauthorised construction to be the reason behind the action.
A day after the election results were declared, some constructions outside Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s official residence in Hyderabad was demolished, also on grounds of being illegal construction. Last week, a posh building on the hilltop in Vishakhapatnam was also identified by the TDP government as an illegal “private office” of the former chief minister constructed after demolishing a guest house for tourists.
Authorities of Mangalgiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation (MTMC) began demolition of the Tadepalli office around 5:30 a.m. using excavators and bulldozers. The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) had issued notice to the opposition party over the alleged illegal construction.
The YSRCP had approached the High Court on Friday, challenging the CRDA office. A party spokesperson claimed that the court had ordered a halt to any demolition activity and the same was conveyed to the CRDA Commissioner by the YSRCP’s lawyer.
According to CRDA and MTMC officials, the YSRCP office was being built on the land of the irrigation department. There were allegations that under the previous government of YSRCP headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, the land, which was being used for a boatyard, was taken on lease for a small amount.
There were also allegations that the construction was taken up without taking approvals from CRDA and MTMC. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy in his post on ‘X’, said through these acts, Mr Naidu was giving a message about how his regime was going to be for the next five years. The YSRCP Chief, however, said the party would not bow before these threats and political vendetta. He vowed to fight on behalf of the people and appealed to all democratic forces in the country to condemn these acts of Mr Naidu.
“In Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu took his Damanakanda to a new level. A dictator bulldozed the nearly completed YSRCP central office at Tadepalli. The orders of the High Court were ignored. Law and justice have completely disappeared in the state,” Reddy wrote on X. “Chandrababu, who is shedding blood due to the violent incidents that are taking place after the elections, has given a violent message about how the regime is going to be for these five years through this incident. With these threats, and these acts of violence YSRCP has no bow, no turning back. We will fight hard on behalf of the people, for the people and with the people,” he added.
However, the CRDA and MTMC officials stated that the YSRCP office was being built on land owned by the irrigation department and that construction had proceeded without the necessary approvals. The TDP leader Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy said the procedure was carried out as per law adding that the demolition of illegal construction has nothing to do with political vendetta.
“As per the law and prevailing rules, any illegal construction needs to be demolished. Today, the party office of YSRCP which is being built illegally without obtaining any permissions from the concerned departments is being demolished as per the rules,” he added.
On Jagan Reddy’s political vendetta allegation, Kommareddy said, “This has nothing to do with any kind of political vendetta as the YSRCP is alleging. First, they should answer whether the constitution which they have taken up has the required permissions or not…TDP and Nara Chandrababu Naidu have never followed the path of political vendetta.”
Later, the TDP in a statement said the under-construction office of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) at Tadepalli in Guntur district was demolished as it was being built ‘illegally’ on the Irrigation Department’s land.
“The action was taken based on a complaint by a TDP leader. The complaint was lodged with the municipal commissioners of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and Mangalgiri Tadepalli Municipal Corporation (MTMC) that the opposition party’s office was being built illegally on two acres of the Irrigation Department’s land,” a TDP press release stated.
“Following this, the demolition of these illegal constructions of the YSRCP leaders has been launched under the supervision of the MTMC officials,” it added. The statement also alleged that Mr Reddy had ‘misused’ his power as CM to allot the land for the construction of his party’s office.
“Jagan Mohan Reddy had planned to occupy the neighbouring 15 acres by building the office in these two acres. It is now clarified that the Irrigation Department has not given the clearance to hand over these two acres to the YSRCP,” the TDP claimed.