Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu raised a hue and cry over the demolition of “Praja Vedika” adjacent to his Tadepalli residence by the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government within a day of assuming power in June 2019.
While Jagan described it as an illegal construction by the government, which is supposed to uphold the law, Naidu described it as a destructive act.
The TDP chief continued to raise the issue whenever he talked about the destructive regime of Jagan.
Now Naidu has come to power with a huge mandate in the recent assembly elections. And people expect his rule to be different from that of Jagan and they are of view that Naidu would not resort to vendetta politics.
But, the TDP chief has proved that he is no different from Jagan.
Within hours of entering the state assembly on Friday, Naidu began displaying his authority and ordered demolition of the YSR Congress party central office which is under construction at Tadepalli.
In the early hours of Saturday, the AP Capital Region Development Authority mobilised bulldozers and excavators to Tadepalli to raze the YSRCP party's central office in Tadepalli despite a High Court order.
“This unprecedented action, the first instance of a party office being demolished in the state's history, commenced around 5:30 am using excavators and bulldozers,” the party spokesperson said.
The demolition proceeded even though the YSRCP had approached the High Court the previous day, challenging the preliminary actions of the APCRDA.
The court had ordered a halt to any demolition activity, an order conveyed to the APCRDA Commissioner by the YSRCP's lawyer. However, the CRDA proceeded with the demolition, potentially amounting to contempt of court.
The demolished structure was prepared for a slab before being razed. The APCRDA'S defiance of the High Court's directive may now draw further legal scrutiny, the spokesman said.
YSRCP spokesman and former minister Ambati Rambabu described Naidu as a destructive person, not a democrat.
“For him, it appears demolition of YSRCP office is more important than implementation of his Super Six promises,” Ambati said.