Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday accused the BJP of entering into a clandestine understanding with the YSRCP.

Mr. Naidu said Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s continued silence on the ‘raw deal’ meted out to the State and the lack of any concrete action taken by the Modi-Shah duo against the YSRCP chief in the five years of NDA rule was evidence of a tacit understanding between the two political parties.

“BJP is entering into a clandestine understanding with YSRCP while Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes tall claims of fighting against corrupt elements,” Mr. Naidu said, adding that the purpose of the PM’s visit to Visakhapatnam on Friday was to spread canards about the TDP.

‘Pulwama attack’

In a teleconference with party leaders on Saturday, Mr. Naidu said that the BJP was politicising the Pulwama attack and the subsequent developments, and said political interests had become more important for Mr. Modi than national interest.

“YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy hatched a conspiracy to convert A.P. into his fiefdom with help from the BJP. However, TDP would not allow their plans to succeed and it has development of the State on top of its agenda, unlike Mr. Modi for whom politics has taken precedence over national interests,” Mr. Naidu said.

Mr. Naidu stated that leaders of other parties were joining TDP keeping the State’s future in view, and the selection of candidates for the general elections would reflect the people’s aspirations. He objected to the staging of protests by disgruntled elements and pointed out that caste feelings were being aroused to derive electoral mileage, exhorting the TDP cadres to be alert to such ‘pre-poll machinations’.