After the assault, Lokesh Nara, TDP common secretary, tweeted a mix of images of a knife and a stone with the hashtag, “KodiKathiDrama2″. Tagging Jagan in the post, he wrote, “Try something new,” implying the stone pelting was a design and that the stone got here from Tadepalli palace, i.e., Jagan’s camp workplace.
Then again, Chandrababu Naidu, Nara’s father, condemned the assault and requested for “an impartial and unbiased inquiry” in a tweet.
I strongly condemn the assault on @ysjagan. I request the @ECISVEEP to provoke an neutral and unbiased inquiry into the incident and punish the accountable officers.
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) April 13, 2024
Quickly after the stone pelting, YSRCP activists and Jagan admirers held protests at varied locations, together with Guntur, the place they reportedly slapped posters of Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, and Nara Lokesh with slippers and later burnt them. The protests continued into Sunday.
“The attack is a consequence of Naidu’s envy and jealousy over the tremendous response Jagan and YSRCP’s Memantha Siddham rallies have been receiving from the public,” mentioned Karumuri Nageswara Rao, a YSRCP minister. “The former CM could not digest the welfare-centric popular governance of Jagan, which is why he has been targeting our leader and now this attempt on Jagan’s life,” he added.
Jagan has been on a statewide bus yatra, Memantha Siddham (We’re all prepared), which entered Vijayawada Saturday.
The stone pelting incident occurred at 8.10 pm when the rally was passing via the Singh Nagar locality. The stone was flung straight at Jagan amid energy cuts to keep away from mishaps throughout the rally due to low hanging wires.
“It appears the miscreants took advantage of the dimness. We have examined the spot, adjacent school building and surroundings. Special teams have been formed to nab the culprits soon,” mentioned Vijayawada Police Commissioner Kanthi Rana Tata.
The stone got here at Jagan so laborious that after hitting him, it flew and hit YSRCP former minister and Vijayawada East MLA Vellampalli Srinivas, who stood beside the chief minister atop the marketing campaign bus, in his eye.
Although Jagan resumed the highway present after receiving first assist, he later obtained remedy at a authorities hospital the place docs stitched his wound below native anaesthesia.
There was a break within the bus yatra Sunday, for Jagan to get relaxation as suggested by the docs.
Speaking to reporters, Vellampalli described the assault because the TDP-Jana Sena Occasion alliance “targeting Jagan’s life”. He, collectively with Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas, demanded the ECI act to make sure the CM’s security.
Calling the assault painful and unlucky, Jagan’s sister and state Congress chief Y.S. Sharmila mentioned it may very well be an accident.
“But if not, it needs condemnation from everyone. There is no place for violence in democracy. I am praying for Jagan garu’s speedy recovery,” Sharmila tweeted.
Political observers mentioned the general public incident and harm may fetch some sympathy votes for Jagan within the coming elections.
Because the YSRCP leaders level fingers at Naidu, a Vijayawada-based political analyst mentioned a radical probe would reveal the details whereas condemning the assault.
“There are some suspicions, but whoever the culprits are, the YSRCP, nevertheless, will use the incident injuring Jagan to garner some sympathy votes,” the analyst mentioned.
PM Narendra Modi, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, and Tamil Nadu CM M.Okay. Stalin wished a speedy restoration for Jagan in posts on X.
I pray for the speedy restoration and good well being of Andhra Pradesh CM @ysjagan Garu.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2024
What occurred in 2018
In 2018, Jagan, the opposition chief then, was stabbed in his left shoulder with a pointy locally-made blade utilized in conventional rooster fights — particularly throughout Sankranti — in rural Andhra.
The incident occurred 25 October 2018 contained in the secured Visakhapatnam airport. The accused, Srinivas Rao, an worker of a meals outlet within the airport, claimed to be a Jagan admirer and that it was an accident.
The case, first probed by state police, was later transferred to the Nationwide Investigation Company. The trial within the case moved slowly, and Rao, who was lodged in jail for the assault for over 5 years, obtained bail in February this yr.
The TDP, then in rule and even later in opposition, depicted the incident involving a ‘kodi-kathi (rooster blade)’ as trivial and alleged the YSRCP orchestrated the incident forward of polls for sympathy votes.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Additionally learn: ‘YSRCP agents’ — why Jagan’s grassroots ‘welfare volunteers’ have come below EC radar