Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president K Pawan Kalyan on Monday criticised Home Minister Anitha over rising crimes against women in the state, saying that its law and order situation would be different if he replaces her. He was referring to the recent rape and sexual assault incidents which convulsed Tirupati and Kadapa.

Anitha is from Kalyan’s senior ally TDP led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Kalyan, an actor-turned-politician, said that the alleged inaction by the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government against criminals, including those who gave death and rape threats to politicians and their families, was responsible for the current situation in the state.

“Rapists and criminals have become emboldened in Andhra Pradesh because the previous government did not take any action against them,’’ Kalyan told a gathering after inaugurating a science fair at a school in his Pithapuram constituency in Kakinada.

“I am telling Home Minister Anitha also that she should be more active. There should not be a situation where I would have to take over as the Home Minister. Things will change drastically if I take over as the Home Minister. We have a new Director General of Police (DGP) too, I urge him to take strong action against criminals,’’ Kalyan said.

In the recent Assembly polls, the TDP-led alliance, including the JSP and the BJP, stormed to power by routing the YSRCP. Of the 175 seats, the TDP bagged 135 seats, while the JSP and the BJP won 21 seats and 8 respectively.

Kalyan did not appear to threaten the Naidu government of which he is a part, but castigated the Home Minister after someone asked him about some recent rape cases. While in Tirupati, a relative of a three-year-old rape-and-strangulation victim has been arrested, about 10 accused have been arrested in the Kadapa sexual assault case.

“During the previous YSRCP regime, there were people who issued direct threats. They said that if Jagan says, they would kill Pawan Kalyan. Some said they would rape or assault female members of my family. Such people did not face any consequences because the DGP and police did not take any action. This has emboldened criminals who are raping three or five-year-old. This mentality had been fostered and encouraged by the YSRCP government,” Kalyan alleged.

“Isn’t safety of every family their right? What is the police doing, who are they afraid of? Didn’t we tell you that under our NDA government, law and order should not be like in the previous regime? What should be done is, these type of criminals should be given the same treatment that Yogi Adityanath government gives in Uttar Pradesh, then only they will change their ways,’’ the Deputy CM said.

Kalyan hit out at social media trolls too. “If we say anything, there are death or rape threats,’’ he said.

The TDP has refrained from making any comments on Kalyan’s remarks against the Home Minister.

The JSP chief who won in the Assembly polls for the first time from the Pithapuram constituency, said that despite public outrage over rape incidents, justice seems to have been delayed in these cases. He referred to the Nirbhaya case, where many had called for death penalty for the accused, and to a suggestion made by a Delhi high court judge for “castration” of convicted rapists.

“Unfortunately, some police officials are still behaving like they did under the previous regime. I am warning them, this should not continue. Take action, be responsible. We will hold you accountable. When rapes or sexual assaults happen, why is the caste of the victim or accused brought in? Police should take action irrespective of that,’’ Kalyan said. He said the Home Minister should become more proactive and bring changes to improve the law and order situation.

After the 2019 Assembly poll drubbing that the then incumbent TDP received from the YSRCP – when the JSP which fought separately drew a blank – Naidu and Kalyan, who were close to each other, appeared to drift apart. But on October 19, 2022, the YSRCP government banned Kalyan’s public meeting in Visakhapatnam. The JSP leaders and cadre were then also arrested in a police crackdown while Kalyan was confined to a hotel. The incident brought Kalyan and Naidu together again, and they started working to dislodge the Jagan government.

In September 2023, when Naidu was arrested in the alleged AP Skill Development Corporation scam, Kalyan was stopped by the police while he was on his way to meet Naidu in jail. Kalyan declared his support for the TDP chief and announced an electoral tie-up. He also did not spare any efforts to convince the BJP to forge an alliance with the TDP-JSP combine.

Just before the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP joined them to stitch up a formidable coalition which ousted the YSRCP from power. Kalyan was appointed as the Depuy CM with various portfolios – including the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Rural Drinking Water Supply, Environment and Forests, and Science and Technology – in the Naidu Cabinet. He has vowed to work along with Naidu to put the state back on the path of development.