Tadepalli, June 10: The YSR Congress Party strongly condemned the premeditated and violent attacks on Sakshi media offices across Andhra Pradesh, particularly the shocking incident at the Eluru office where miscreants hurled petrol bombs and stones, setting fire to office furniture and damaging nearby property.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Botsa Satyanarayana, said that law and order in the state has completely collapsed under the TDP-led regime. He called the attacks an organised assault on press freedom and democracy, warning that such violent actions will lead to serious consequences. He asserted that those who believe they can silence questioning voices through fear and intimidation are gravely mistaken. Botsa also condemned the illegal arrest of senior journalist Sri Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, terming it another sign of growing media suppression.
Echoing this view, YSRCP Kakinada District President and former minister Sri Kurasala Kannababu described the arson attack as a part of a broader conspiracy by the ruling dispensation. He noted that the violence was not spontaneous but carefully orchestrated, following days of instigated unrest in the name of Amaravati women. He held influential leaders in the government responsible and warned that continued attempts to suppress independent journalism would not be tolerated.
YSRCP General Secretary Gadikota Srikanth Reddy condemned the organised attacks on Sakshi media offices, calling them a direct assault on press freedom. He stated that the alliance government, acting at the behest of TDP, is targeting Sakshi for exposing the truth and standing by the people. Using unrelated remarks as a pretext to attack media houses is a sign of deep-rooted intolerance, he said.
Former Minister Merugu Nagarjuna termed the arson at Sakshi’s Eluru office shocking and dangerous. He demanded immediate legal action against those responsible. Condemning the arrest of senior journalist Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, he questioned the selective targeting of Sakshi despite it disowning a panellist’s remarks. “If controversial comments are made on talk shows across India, will every journalist be jailed?” he asked, warning that such suppression threatens democratic institutions.
They demanded immediate accountability and urged the ruling party to put an end to such anarchic behaviour before irreparable damage was done to democratic institutions.
*YSRCP demands CBI probe into DSC; challenges for open debate* 
