Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu has urged President Ram Nath Kovind to take necessary steps to impose President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh.
A delegation led by the former Chief Minister called on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday and submitted a memorandum on the “anarchy in Andhra Pradesh, constitutional breakdown, collusion of DGP and top police officials with the ruling party” and other issues.
At a press conference later, the TDP leader said they had urged the President to initiate a comprehensive investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into a series of attacks that occurred across Andhra Pradesh on TDP offices and leaders on October 19.
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The President was also requested to investigate the criminal networks linked to the extensive drug hub operating in Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Mr. Kovind was requested to direct the Union government to recall the Director-General of Police (DGP) of Andhra Pradesh in view of his “collusion with the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and eschewing his constitutional duties and responsibilities”.
The other major demand was to declare the President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh by invoking Article 356, he said. “If Article 356 is not invoked now, the Andhra Pradesh mafia gangs would get emboldened and spread their activities to other States. It would lead to a serious threat to national security and integration,” he said.
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Mr. Naidu said that the TDP had explained to Mr. Kovind the immediate need to address the total deterioration of law and order, breakdown of constitutional machinery and uncontrolled drug gangs in Andhra Pradesh. “Wherever ganja is being seized in the country, it is being linked to A.P. The police of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and other States have blamed the A.P. gangs for smuggling of drugs,” he said.
The President had assured them that he would look into the matter, he added.