For the past few days, YSR Congress Party General Secretary V Vijay Sai Reddy has engaged in a war of words on social media with Daggubati Purandeshwari, the President of the Andhra Pradesh state Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sai Reddy has never reacted so strongly to BJP's criticism of the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the past.
Even when local BJP leaders made criticisms against him, he didn't pay much attention due to his close ties with national BJP leaders in Delhi, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, since Purandeshwari assumed the role of BJP President in AP, Sai Reddy has been making sharp comments against her. This was not only because she supported Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu and condemned his arrest in the skill development case but also because she began attacking him personally.
Purandeshwari, for reasons known to her, tried to implicate Sai Reddy in her criticism of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government's liquor policy.
She alleged that the YSRCP was making crores of money through liquor sales and claimed that both Sai Reddy and P Mithun Reddy were involved in siphoning off significant money through the liquor mafia in the state.
Sources indicate that Purandeshwari was misled by a liquor dealer and has been personally targeting Sai Reddy. She even complained to the Centre, urging them to take serious action against Sai Reddy and Mithun Reddy.
Naturally, Sai Reddy was irritated and responded by making strong comments against her. He challenged her remarks and demanded that she provide public proof to support her claims.
He even asserted that Purandeshwari was speaking without evidence regarding the liquor policy because she frequently consumes liquor.
The war of words continues, even as other YSRCP and BJP leaders have chosen to remain silent on the matter.