Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government, under the leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu, has launched an extensive crackdown on social media posts targeting political figures and their families. Authorities have registered 100 cases, made 39 arrests, and issued 67 notices in response to posts allegedly inciting division and conflict between groups.
Among those targeted in these posts are Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneshwari, his son and minister Lokesh’s wife Brahmini, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s daughters, and state Congress president YS Sharmila. In light of these developments, Naidu has urged his party members to maintain composure and respond to these provocative online messages with restraint.
The opposition party, YSRCP, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, has raised concerns about the crackdown, claiming that over 650 notices have been issued to its activists, alongside 147 cases and 49 arrests within just a week. Reddy has criticized the ruling TDP government, accusing it of failing to fulfill its promises made during the election campaign. He added that his party members would continue posting about the government’s failures on social media.
In a separate incident, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has been summoned by Andhra Pradesh police following the circulation of morphed images of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on social media. Varma has been asked to appear before investigators next week and has expressed his willingness to cooperate fully. The case was filed after a formal complaint claimed that Varma’s posts were defamatory towards Naidu and his family members.