The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Tuesday refuted allegations that the two individuals arrested for allegedly conspiring to damage the Prakasam Barrage on the Krishna River in Vijayawada had any connections with the party.
YSRCP leaders are instead accusing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of trying to deflect blame, stating that the arrested individuals were closely associated with the TDP.
They claim the ruling party is attempting to smear the opposition to distract from its own failures in flood relief efforts.
Senior YSRCP leader and former minister Ambati Rambabu criticized TDP president and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for engaging in "diversionary politics" by blaming the YSRCP for the boat mishap at the Prakasam Barrage.
He accused Naidu of deliberately creating a conspiracy to shift attention away from the government's mishandling of the flood crisis, stating that Naidu was sinking to new lows with these allegations.
Rambabu pointed out that not only private boats but also tourism boats were caught in the floodwaters.
Ambati further criticized Naidu for exploiting every crisis, including the recent floods in the Budameru and Krishna rivers, to target YSRCP leaders.
He noted that during the floods, the water flow reached an exceptionally high level of 11.43 lakh cusecs, a volume not seen in years.
He explained that the floods caused significant damage, with 202 boats partially damaged and 432 completely destroyed, according to government reports.
He dismissed the claims of a conspiracy surrounding the three large boats that struck the Prakasam Barrage gates as absurd.
Ambati also highlighted that Komati Rammohan, one of the accused, is closely related to Komati Jayaram, the TDP NRI wing head, and that Ushaadri, another accused, had been photographed with Nara Lokesh.
He argued that this connection demonstrates the baseless nature of the accusations against YSRCP leaders like former MP Nandigam Suresh and MLC Talasila Raghuram, who are being unjustly targeted.