TDP president and former chief minister N Chanddrababu Naidu often launched a broadside against the Jagan government alleging that YSRCP leaders indulged in massive scams spanning from sand, land, wine, mine, Coronavirus kits, bleaching powder and cement. The former CM demanded that the government order a CBI probe into the sand scam.

The new sand policy adopted by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has not just kicked up a storm in the Opposition, it raised a storm of dust within the YSRCP. Now, the sand scam has caught the attention of even BJP national leaders.

BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar on Saturday stated that the YSRCP ruling instead of targeting the Opposition, the Andhra Pradesh government would do a better service to people if it ordered investigations into the unchecked corruption by the YSRCP party.

Taking to Twitter, the BJP leader and in-charge of Tripura party affairs, he said, “YSRCP came to power by accusing TDP over corruption but the situation is unchanged. BJP raised many corruption issues including that in sand. Now, CM should act against all those in his govt who’re facing corruption allegations.”

Welcoming the arrest of TDP MLA and former labour minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu in the alleged ESI scam, he tweeted, “BJP has been demanding stringent action against corruption against TDP regime. However, YSRCP govt can’t use these arrests to cover up corruption allegations against it.”

In the past, the YSRCP leaders openly criticised the Jagan government over the scarcity of sand, sand mining, and its supply. While Naidu Naidu often made a scathing attack on the ruling YSRCP saying the government had created artificial sand scarcity during the last five months, which had adversely affected the livelihood of those who relied on the construction sector, Vinukonda YSRCP MLA Bolla Brahma Naidu recently dropped a bombshell on the ruling dispensation saying the sand mafia is operating rampantly in Andhra Pradesh.

Another YSRCP MLA Kileru Rosaiah bemoaned that the sand was not reaching stock points, while Kothapet YSRCP legislator Jaggi Reddy slammed the APMDC saying the nodal agency had failed to take steps to ensure transparency in sales and transportation of sand. The YSRCP leaders seem to have raised genuine concerns over the sale of sand, something that Naidu always pointed out.

It remains to be seen if Jagan will look into his own backyard and order a CBI investigation into the alleged land scam.