YS Jagan’s Warning Triggers Haunting Memory of Naxal Attack on Chandrababu

YSRCP President and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy warned Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu against pushing citizens to the brink through his misgovernance. He accused Naidu of fostering a climate of fear by filing false cases against YSRCP leaders and activists on the basis of the ‘Red Book’, silencing dissent, and rolling back all welfare schemes launched by the previous YSRCP government.

“This is how Naxalites are born,” Jagan remarked, triggering a wave of recollection about the infamous Naxalite attack on Chandrababu Naidu two decades ago — an attack he miraculously survived.

On October 1, 2003, Chandrababu Naidu’s convoy was struck by a landmine blast at the foothills of Tirumala, near Alipiri. Then the Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, Naidu was on his way to the Srivari Temple to offer ‘pattu vastralu’ on the occasion of the Brahmotsavams. At around 4:10–4:30 pm, a series of claymore mines — reportedly six to nine — exploded on the Ghat Road, sending his bulletproof car flying before it crashed back onto the road.

The attack left Naidu with minor injuries and a fractured collarbone. Several others in the convoy, including Minister B. Gopalakrishna Reddy and MLAs R. Rajasekhar Reddy and Ch. Krishnamurthy, were also injured. The People’s War Group (PWG) later claimed responsibility for the ambush, which is believed to be the first direct Naxalite attack on a sitting Indian Chief Minister.

Police investigations led to the killing or capture of key Maoist operatives linked to the attack in 2004 and 2009. The Naxalites had justified the assault by accusing Naidu of being "anti-people, anti-tribal, and pro-corporate,” citing his aggressive crackdown on Naxals and expansion of elite anti-Maoist Greyhounds forces.

Jagan’s comments come at a time when the Central government has launched Operation Kagar — a coordinated counterinsurgency effort to eliminate Maoist insurgents across Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.

However, the operation has drawn criticism from multiple quarters. Political parties, including the Congress, BRS, and various Left groups, along with tribal organisations and civil society activists, have condemned Operation Kagar as a violation of human rights. Allegations of fake encounters have surfaced, and critics have called for peace talks, dialogue, and a ceasefire as a more sustainable path forward.