Vijayawada: Former chief minister minister and YSRCP President, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Friday strongly con-demned the arrest of former MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi and accused the ruling TDP-led coalition of blatant misuse of power.

He criticised the coalition for what he called its attempts to crush political opponents through unlawful arrests.

“The legal institutions in Andhra Pradesh have been completely paralysed due to the TDP government’s interference,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said in a post on X.

He accused the ruling party of orchestrating illegal arrests under the pretext of enforcing the Red Book Constitution, which he said was being used to undermine the democratic framework of the state.

He cited the case of Vallabhaneni Vamsi as a glaring example of political vendetta.

He said in the case re-lating to the alleged attack on the TDP’s office, a Dalit youth testified before the court, revealing that TDP leaders had pressured him into filing a false case.

Jagan criticised Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for allegedly resorting to unethical tactics and attempting to manipulate the investigation and intimidate witnesses.

He further accused the police of acting as a tool for political harassment, stating that the Dalit youth and his family were threatened and coerced immediately after his testimony.

Despite the case being under judicial supervision, the ruling party continued to interfere in the investigation, he said and termed the government’s actions as a “serious affront to the judiciary” and as “deliberately undermining the legal process.”

Strongly condemning the ‘wrongful arrest’ of Vallabhaneni Vamsi, he held the government responsible for his safety. Further targeting the TDP’s governance, Jagan also cited the case of former Denduluru MLA Kotharu Chowdary, who was allegedly booked in a false SC/ST case.

He pointed out that video evidence had been widely circulated, showing a TDP MLA verbally abusing Kotharu Chowdary’s driver. However, the police filed a fabricated case against Chowdary, even invoking IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder), while ignoring the actual offender.

Jagan called this a clear indication of the police department’s bias and accused the Chandrababu Naidu government of systematically targeting political opponents.

Vamsi was arrested by police in Hyderabad on Thursday and he was brought to Vijayawada, where a court sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

He was arrested for kidnapping and threatening a computer operator at TDP’s Gannavaram office. Police also invoked SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act against the former MLA

and others.