Visakhapatnam, June 8: Varudu Kalyani, MLC and President of the YSRCP Women’s Wing, launched a scathing attack on State Home Minister Anitha, accusing her of resorting to diversionary politics by attributing a journalist’s remarks to the YSRCP to deflect attention from her failure to ensure women’s safety in Andhra Pradesh. Speaking at a press conference at the YSRCP city office in Visakhapatnam, Kalyani condemned Anitha’s leadership, asserting that the Home Minister lacks the moral authority to lecture others on values, given her dismal record. “Under Anita’s watch, a woman faces atrocities every three to four hours in the state, reflecting her gross incompetence,” Kalyani stated, emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize women’s security over political mudslinging.
Kalyani criticized Anitha for politicizing a journalist’s remarks made during a Sakshi TV debate, despite the journalist issuing an apology and both YSRCP and Sakshi TV clarifying that the comments were personal and not endorsed by the party. “Instead of addressing the rising crimes against women, Anita and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, along with their allies, are orchestrating a smear campaign through yellow media and TDP-backed social media to tarnish YSRCP and its leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy,” she alleged.
Kalyani accused the ruling coalition of using such tactics to cover up their failure to deliver on election promises and ensure public safety. “In the year since the coalition government came to power, women’s safety has deteriorated, law and order have collapsed, and no welfare measures have reached the people,” she said, pointing to the government’s focus on commissions from contractors and land grabs in Amaravati instead of governance.
Highlighting specific incidents, Kalyani cited the recent murder of an intermediate student in Anantapur, where police inaction followed the parents’ complaint about her disappearance. She also referenced the horrific six-month-long assault on a minor Dalit girl by 14 TDP workers in the same district, questioning why no arrests were made despite a woman minister representing the area. “In Kadapa, a three-year-old girl was raped and murdered, yet the Home Minister remains silent. Is this the responsibility of a Home Minister?” Kalyani demanded, accusing Anita of failing to curb the proliferation of 70,000 illegal liquor shops and the unchecked transport of narcotics, even from Visakhapatnam, where Anita resides. She further criticized the government for admitting in the Assembly that 70–80 cases of crimes against women are registered daily—equating to three to four cases every hour—with no response from the Home Minister.
Kalyani contrasted the YSRCP’s women-centric governance under YS Jagan with the current regime’s failures. “YS Jagan empowered women by allocating 32 lakh house titles in their names, reserving 50% of nominated posts and jobs for women, and introducing schemes like Amma Vodi, Vidya Deevena, and Vasathi Deevena, which directly benefited mothers.
The Disha App, a national model, protected countless women,” she said. In contrast, she accused Chandrababu of canceling 50,000 house titles given to BC, SC, ST, and minority women in Amaravati, stripping them of dignity and security. “Chandrababu promised free bus travel, three free gas cylinders annually, and 20 lakh jobs, but has delivered nothing. Instead, he terminated YSRCP-era jobs and volunteer systems,” Kalyani charged, urging Anita to answer for unfulfilled promises like the Mahashakti scheme and Thalliki Vandanam.
Kalyani also called out Anita’s hypocrisy in speaking about values while ignoring her own derogatory remarks against YS Vijayamma and Bharati during and after the elections. “Anitha must apologize for her past statements before preaching morality,” she insisted, accusing the coalition of filing cases against opposition leaders out of political vendetta. “YS Jagan respects women and worked tirelessly for their social, political, and economic upliftment, while Chandrababu’s regime has ushered in a reign of chaos—with a paralyzed police system and a ‘Red Book’ constitution fostering anarchy,” she concluded.
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