TDP chief says sarpanches winning panchayat polls with party's support will ensure safety of places of worship

Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], January 28 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh opposition leader and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday claimed that sarpanches winning the gram panchayat elections with his party's support will ensure the safety of places of worship in the state.
While addressing Naidu further said, "125 attacks on temples took place in YSRCP regime. Only after my visit to Ramateertham, the state government took action. Sarpanches who will win with TDP support will take care of the safety of places of worship."
On the gram panchayat election to be held in Andhra, he urged the people of the state to teach the ruling YSRCP a lesson.
"YSRCP is asking people for making gram panchayat elections unanimous. It is not unanimous by choice of the people but the ruling party is threatening to make polls unanimous," alleged Naidu.
Naidu said that the YSRCP leaders have earlier indulged in large scale violence and threatened opposition candidates not to file nominations during the local body elections. "They tried to make local body elections unanimous. Even now, the same thing may recur at the time of the gram panchayat elections," he said.
In the 2020 local body elections, Naidu alleged that 23 per cent of Mandal and 19 per cent of Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies elections became unanimous. "Never in the history of Andhra Pradesh, had so many elections become unanimous," he said.
Naidu attacked the YSRCP and said that the party had misused both power and police. "If it is with public support, why the results were not so humongous in 2014?" he asked.
Naidu appreciated his last tenure as the chief minister and said that Andhra Pradesh was on top in many areas during his party's regime. "All the works have been halted under the YSRCP government," he observed.
While releasing his party's manifesto for the gram panchayat elections, he mentioned that TDP supported candidates would definitely contest the polls.
Naidu laid out five points as his main agenda and part of the manifesto including safe drinking water and reduction in the property tax. "Candidates supported by TDP will work to achieve this agenda," he promised.
The TDP chief alleged that the ruling party is making a mockery of democracy in the name of unanimous elections.
"The Panchayat Raj Minister is speaking in an atrocious manner against the State Election Commissioners (SEC). He should be sacked immediately,'' added Naidu on the alleged tussle between the state government and SEC.
Naidu appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh to come forward and vote for the candidates supported by TDP.
He further alleged that the people from the scheduled castes and tribes, other backward classes and minority groups are being suppressed with brute force in the state.
He requested the concerned officials to work in an unbiased manner in the upcoming elections. "Jagan had taken some bureaucrats to the jail in the past, too. If you disobey the rules and yield to the ruling party pressures, you will face the wrath," Naidu said.
"TDP will fight against all constitutional violations by the ruling party," concluded Naidu. (ANI)