Deccan Chronicle

TD move to show attack on Jagan as ‘drama’ fails

- N. VAMSI SRINIVAS | DC

The Telugu Desam's efforts to showcase the attack on Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in Vijayawada on Saturday as "self-inflicted to garner sympathy" have fallen flat on Wednesday.

Party candidate from Vijayawada Central, Bonda Uma, revealed that a resident of a local basti has admitted he threw a stone on the chief minister out of sheer anger. The anger, according to Uma, emanated from the state government's decision to close down the "Anna Canteens", an initiative of the Chandrabab­u Naiduled government to supply meals at `5 each.

Uma, speaking to a vernacular television channel, also said the suspect, said to be in police custody, was also upset over the YSR Congress leaders failing to keep their promise of paying him money and serving liquor for attending the CM'S road show.

“Uma's revelation clearly exposed the double standards of TD and

Chandrabab­u Naidu. Till now, they tried to project that the ruling party orchestrat­ed the attack to gain sympathy and now, when the truth is about to come out, the party changed its version," alleged the YSR Congress spokespers­on

Ever since the Chief Minister sustained injury, the TD leaders took to social media ridiculing the attack as "kodikatti 2.0", citing that the ruling party enacted a similar attack on Jagan Reddy before the 2019 polls, with a knife, in Visakhapat­nam airport.

Though party chief N. Chandrabab­u Naidu condemned the attack and demanded an unbiased probe, his son and party general secretary Nara Lokesh tweeted ridiculing the attack and indicating it as self-inflicted.

TD'S state unit president K Atchannaid­u dismissed the attack on Jagan as a "poll stunt scripted by Jagan and the senior police officials - DGP and Intelligen­ce chief - fearing severe drubbing in polls."

“It is nothing but

Kodikatti 2.0," he added.

The party's official handle on X, the social media platform, also maintained that it was an orchestrat­ed attack.

TD now changed its tack and accused the YSR Congress of trying to implicate Bonda Uma in the case.

Uma, trying to put on a brave face, threatened to take action against the police officials trying to implicate him once the TD government is formed. Chandrabab­u Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, addressing public meetings on Wednesday, presented a similar narrative, that the police have been preparing the ground to implicate Uma.

Jana Sena's official handle reposted a tweet of a follower, which inadverten­tly admitted that the attack was not orchestrat­ed. It sought to project that Jagan tried to blame the opposition for the attack, contrary to the fact that some disgruntle­d elements threw a stone on Jagan over the party's failure to fulfill the promise of food and liquor to the road show participan­ts.

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