Tirupati: Punganur MLA and YSRCP regional coordinator Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy on Saturday came down heavily on the alliance government, accusing it of targeting opposition leaders with fabricated cases. Reacting strongly to the arrest of his son and Rajampet MP P Midhun Reddy through a video message, Ramachandra Reddy alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, minister Nara Lokesh, and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan were deliberately harassing YSRCP leaders.

He charged that the current government was indulging in acts of political revenge, using law enforcement agencies as tools of oppression. Citing an old case in which Midhun Reddy was accused of assaulting an airport manager, a case which was instigated by Chandrababu Naidu’s vendetta politics even back then, Ramachandra Reddy said that that case did not stand legal scrutiny, and this new case will meet the same fate.

He said Midhun Reddy, who is a three-time MP, is being targeted simply because of his association with YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. “They falsely accuse us of grabbing government and forest lands, claiming there are Madanapalle land files pending against us. But till date, nothing has been proven,” he said.

Calling the arrest a clear act of harassment, the former minister alleged that the ruling coalition was desperate to trouble the YSRCP leadership. He remarked that Chandrababu Naidu’s political legacy will be permanently tainted by such acts of repression. “We have done no wrong. Midhun will come out clean, like a pearl washed in clear water. But how will you explain your misdeeds to the people?” he said.