Anantapur: Former Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Sake Shailajanath on Saturday alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was surviving on “opportunistic and diversionary politics” to deflect attention from the government’s failures.

Addressing the media at the YSRCP office in Anantapur, he accused the TDP of creating unnecessary controversies over flexis and alleged animal sacrifice incidents to divert public focus from governance lapses.

Shailajanath asserted that the YSRCP has never supported violence of any kind and claimed that the TDP itself had a history of encouraging such practices.

He questioned the police action against a few youth over alleged animal sacrifice near flexis and criticised the manner in which they were publicly paraded. He recalled similar incidents in the past during celebrations linked to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, and asked whether the government would register cases against TDP leaders and workers as well.

He accused the government of exaggerating isolated incidents around YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s birthday, while ignoring practices that have traditionally taken place during village festivals, jatras and vows.

According to him, the Chief Minister was using inflammatory rhetoric to portray the opposition as promoting violence and to threaten political ostracism.

Shailajanath said the controversy was being used to divert attention from serious issues such as deteriorating law and order, the spread of ganja and drugs, illegal registrations, and alleged harassment of citizens at police stations.

He pointed out that even Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reportedly expressed concern over the State’s law-and-order situation.

He further alleged that Andhra Pradesh was witnessing a lack of industrial growth, jobs, and investments, and claimed that the government’s failed attempt to privatise medical colleges had exposed its intentions. He reminded the police that they were bound by the Constitution and warned against the misuse of power under political pressure.