Former Minister and YSRCP Krishna district unit president Perni Venkatramaiah (Nani) on Thursday accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of undermining the police administration by directly interacting with nearly 1,100 Station House Officers, Circle Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police through a video conference.

Addressing the media in Machilipatnam, Mr. Nani alleged that the Chief Minister's direct interaction with field-level police officers, bypassing the Director General of Police, was intended to establish political control over the police machinery ahead of the municipal and panchayat elections.

The law and order situation in the State had deteriorated, he said, and questioned the government's priorities in dealing with crime. While social media posts were being treated as serious offences, the death of a young woman doctor in Rajahmundry after she was hit by a car was being treated as an accident case, he claimed.

Mr. Nani also referred to an incident in which a police officer was allegedly attacked by a ganja gang and an attempt was made to stab him. He questioned the response of Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha over this, and criticised Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan for allegedly limiting his response to social media posts.

The former Minister also alleged that the government was weakening the Disha system intended to ensure the safety of women.

Targeting the government's focus on Amaravati, Mr. Nani alleged that the publicity related to the capital development was gaining prominence over the issues of farmers in the Krishna Delta, who were facing difficulties in securing irrigation water and fertilizers. He alleged that agricultural lands were also being acquired in the name of further phases of capital development.

Published - August 13, 2026 08:07 pm IST