Home minister has no powers to control law and order, alleges BCY chief Bode Ramachandra Yadav

VIJAYAWADA: Bharata Chaitanya Yuvajana (BCY) Party president Bode Ramachandra Yadav alleged that law and order in Andhra Pradesh has completely collapsed, with crimes against women and children becoming a daily occurrence. He said people had voted for change earlier due to the failure of law and order under the previous government, but the present coalition government has also failed to provide security to women. Despite continuous incidents over the past 20 months, the government has remained indifferent and ineffective, he charged, speaking to the media in Punganur on Tuesday.Citing a personal incident as evidence of the deteriorating situation, Yadav said his daughter and her friends were chased for nearly 10 kilometres by a miscreant while returning from a private function. The man allegedly stopped their car near Punganur, abused the driver who was wearing an Ayyappa mala, and terrorised the girls. When a complaint was lodged, instead of acting against the accused, the police allegedly detained the victims’ staff and the driver illegally overnight and harassed them for hours the next day. He questioned why a matter that could have been resolved by a traffic constable was monitored at the district SP level, alleging political conspiracy.Yadav made sensational allegations that a cabinet minister was functioning as an extra-constitutional authority, controlling the home department despite not holding the portfolio. Though a Dalit woman has been made home minister in name, real power lies with another key minister, he alleged, claiming that instructions are issued directly from Lokesh’s office to senior police officials. He questioned whether this amounted to democracy or authoritarianism.The BCY Party chief also alleged that Andhra Pradesh has become a hub for drugs, with the mafia flourishing due to political patronage and police inaction. He demanded a CBI probe into the drug network, warning that failure to order an inquiry would strengthen public belief that government leaders themselves are involved.Stating that cases cannot silence him, Yadav said he has faced over 30 false cases earlier and 17 more in the last 20 months for questioning govt policies. He criticised Lokesh for interfering in multiple departments while failing to fix problems in the education department, warning that people would teach a fitting lesson if such governance continued.