Andhra Pradesh: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday assured Muslims of “full security” if his coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) wins the upcoming state Assembly elections.
“I have come before you to assure you all full security as the people of the State are now more worried about their safety and security besides guarantee to their lives,” said Naidu during a public meeting at Pedakurapadu in Palnadu district as part of his election campaign. The ex-Andhra chief minister’s assurance is an interesting development, given that under 10% Muslim vote in the state is mostly believed to be with the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
In the upcoming elections, the TDP, which had quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2018, returned to the NDA fold formally. The Pawan Kalyan-led JSP was already a part of the NDA. Stating that “great injustice” was done for Muslims in the past five years under the YSRCP, Mr Chandrababu assured the community that he will personally take the responsibility of their safety and security.
“The Jana Sena chief, Mr Pawan Kalyan, has already given a call to the people that they all should join hands to get the State rid of this evil. The TDP, the Jana Sena and the BJP joined hands keeping in view the future of all of you ,” Naidu said. Calling the last years under the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP a “nightmare”, Naidu said that the ruling government “does not mind even taking away the lives of the people to remain in power”.
“The atrocities against all sections have gone up in the State in the past five years. A local YSRCP leader called a Muslim woman a thief when she was coming back home after performing namaz at a local masjid. When this has happened for an innocent Muslim woman one can easily imagine what will be the fate of others,” Naidu stated. He claimed that in spite of the TDP being an NDA partner since 2014, no injustice was done to any Muslim during the previous TDP government.
The TDP supremo also attacked the YSRCP for trying to scrap Amaravati as the state’s new capital. “Had Amaravati been completed the State would have got Rs one lakh crore revenue every year. Mr Jagan has totally destroyed everything, including Amaravati,” Naidu said, in a press release from his office.
