The Revanth Reddy-led Congress government and NDA government led by N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh had promised to install “people’s governments” and work differently from their predecessors – the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), respectively – while not indulging in “vendetta politics”.

However, recent events in the Telugu states have indicated that the “vendetta politics” may have spilled over to the virtual world and is set to continue unabated. The BRS and YSRCP have alleged that their workers, social media activists, sympathisers and those questioning the governments over their failures are facing the brunt of the executive.

On Friday, the police arrested Kontham Dileep, the former digital media head of the Telangana government during the BRS regime between 2014 and 2023, on charges of disseminating “misinformation” on social media. His arrest came days after he had claimed on social media that the Telangana government had arrested scores of BRS social media activists for “exposing the misdeeds” of those in power. Dileep was let off after a local court refused to hear the police’s custody plea.

Dileep’s arrest came close on the heels of the police in neighbouring Andhra issuing 680 notices, registering 147 cases and arresting 49 persons, some of them known to run pro-YSRCP handles on social media, for allegedly posting “derogatory content” on women leaders of the TDP.

While Opposition parties in both states are up in arms and claim their social media activities are being “closely watched” by the government, the ruling parties emphasise that only those posting “derogatory and inciting content” are facing action. But what is clear is that, like their predecessors, Revanth and Naidu have now figured out the thin line between freedom of speech and expression, and “the misuse of social media to cause harm”.

“No one who has questioned the government has faced action. Even during the recent floods in the state, many social media handles questioned the government, but faced no action. We have only booked those who abuse and make derogatory comments. Those booked have used morphed images and posted derogatory content against (Minister) Nara Lokesh’s wife, Brahmani. Moreover, under the YSRCP regime, as many as 1,047 cases were registered. People were booked for sharing Facebook posts and many TDP activists were harassed on false charges. With what moral right is the YSRCP questioning us?” TDP national spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari told The Indian Express.

Claiming the arrests to be “unconstitutional and “mala fide”, YSRCP leaders, including Tirupati MP M Gurumoorthy, former MLA Bhumana Karunakara Reddy and former minister Roja, filed counter-cases Tuesday in Tirupati against TDP social media activists for showing their party chief and former CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in poor light.

Additionally, the Andhra High Court last week sought a report from the police on the whereabouts of seven arrested YSRCP activists after their families moved court claiming the activists were being held for three-four days without being presented in court. A few YSRCP leaders have alleged that their complaints are not being entertained by the police.

In Telangana, defending the pro-BRS social media handles and Dileep, BRS working president K T Rama Rao said they were only “bringing out the scams” of the Revanth government even as the Congress accused him of “creating rift in society by pitting one caste against another”.

While the BRS and YSRCP now cry foul, they were at the receiving end of criticism for “stifling free speech” during their heydays. The BRS, especially during its second term between 2018 and 2023, faced flak for trying to “target” political opponents after it grilled the Congress’s campaign manager Sunil Kanugolu while accusing him of defaming the government.

The BRS also faced allegations of “harassing journalists” whose coverage was “unfavourable” during the politically important 2022 Huzurabad bypolls.

On the other hand, Jagan, who in July held a “photo exhibition” in Delhi to showcase the TDP government’s “revenge politics” and claimed 30 murders and over 300 attempts to murder took place since Naidu assumed power in June, has been accused of “unleashing the state’s power to stifle voices of dissent” while he was CM. One of the most high-profile cases was of journalist Anku Babu, who was arrested by the police for merely sharing a post, which was critical of the YSRCP regime, on WhatsApp.

In 2020, 66-year-old P Ranganakayamma was arrested by the Guntur CID for posing 20 questions to the Jagan government in a Facebook post following a gas leak at L G Polymers in Visakhapatnam.

However divided they may be on the ground as well as on social media, the leaders unite in saying that nothing much comes out of the cases filed against the social media activists of rival parties. “The case (against Kanugolu) has not gone anywhere as there is no evidence that the Congress resorted to any ‘mischief’,” a Congress leader said.

Elaborating, a TDP leader in Vijayawada claimed people booked in such cases generally secure bail immediately or after 14 days. “Following that, the case drags on. Sometimes, chargesheets are filed. Most people stay out on bail and the case hardly reaches its logical conclusion, except when it is high profile,” the leader said.

The tell-tale sign that the war of words between political rivals is here to stay are the announcements by Andhra and Telangana governments of special police cells to monitor social media content.