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The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) on Saturday alleged that the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh is "gagging the voice of dissent" and using the police as a tool to settle political scores and suppress opposition voices.
According to a statement issued by the YSRCP State office, Party General Secretary Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, while addressing the media, said the state is "slipping into autocracy from democracy," alleging that dissent is being curbed through coercive administrative and police actions. He further claimed that the voice of dissent is not finding space in mainstream media, while individuals raising questions on governance are facing legal action. As per the statement, for raising simple questions about corruption in a temple at Sri Kalahasti, the construction cost of Amaravati, or the extravagance of the state government, cases were booked against individuals and letters were written by authorities to block their social media accounts. This is throttling the fundamental right to freedom of expression, and the media should highlight such issues, as social media platforms are being watched with a magnifying glass, and letters are being written either to remove posts or block the accounts of those questioning the government on various issues. Self-promotion, marginalisation of dissent, and media control have been the methodology adopted by the government to shut down dissent, and it is using the police as a tool to execute its policy. Marginalisation of dissent and media control lead to highly authoritarian governance, and democracy will go for a toss. Such a rule will not last long, and people will turn against it, as proven by many examples in history, he said. People are living in constant fear, and the issue does not end with YSRCP but concerns everyone. The matter was also raised as a serious concern by former Chief Minister and YSRCP President Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on the X platform in a detailed manner, he said. (ANI)
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