For the last few days, Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been crying from the roof tops over the alleged witch-hunting his party leaders and social media activists associated with his party.
He even wrote a letter to Andhra Pradesh director general of police Gautam Sawang, to this effect, alleging that the YSRC government, with the help of the police, was indulging in witch-hunt of the TDP’s social media activists.
Naidu alleged that the police were arresting only TDP social media activists and not taking the complaints against the ruling YSR Congress activists.
It is an open secret that the political parties have been using the social media platforms to run down one another in public.
Hate posts, heavy trolling and abusive comments among the supporters of various political parties have become the order of the day and no political party is an except to this ugly malice.
There were at least half-a-dozen arrests of the social media activists in the last three-and-a-half months, starting with a small-time actor Sekhar Chowdary from Tenali, who posted a video using filthy and objectionable language at chief minister and irrigation minister.
But what Naidu has forgotten that the previous TDP government headed by him, too, resorted to witch-hunt of social media activists supporting the YSRC in the past.
The arrest of YSRC activist Ravi Kiran Inturi, for posting objectionable caricatures of Naidu and Lokesh and his grilling at Thullur police staton is still fresh in the minds of the people.
There were several such arrests during the TDP regime where the YSR Congress social media activists were arrested and jailed.
Then, Naidu and his party leaders used to claim that they were weeding out unhealthy trends in the social media and trying to improve the system.
Now, they are facing the same music in the hands of YSR Congress party and the Jagan government.
Surprisingly, Chandrababu Naidu who wanted a check on the social media when he was the chief minister, is now blaming the same measure by his successor in the government.
What a shame?