‘Like Pablo Escobar,’ Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu compares Jagan Mohan Reddy to Columbian drug lord

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on July 25, compared YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy to slain Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Naidu, the chief of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), said Andhra Pradesh had become a 'Ganja capital' (Drugs Capital) of the country under Reddy's rule as Chief Minister.

"Pablo Escobar is a Colombian drug lord, he is a Narco terrorist. He turned politician and then started his cartel to sell drugs. He earned 30 Billion Dollars at that time, now it’s 90 Billion Dollars worth. He was arrested in 1976 and in 1980 he became the number one richest drug lord in the world, Naidu said while speaking in Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

Dubbed the ‘king of cocaine,’ Pablo Emilio Escobar was a Colombian drug lord, who went to become one of the wealthiest criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of $30 billion by the time of his death in 1993. He was killed by Colombian special forces.

"There was only one person who can compare to what happened in Andhra, drug lord Pablo Escobar," Naidu said, as per reports, hitting out at Jagan Reddy over the alleged failure of law-and-order in the state in his term. In his decades-long career, Naidu said he had never seen a situation like that in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu's comments come after Reddy attacked the TDP government, claiming there had been lawlessness in Andhra Pradesh. Last week, the former CM Reddy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the ‘grisly’ state of affairs and the ‘deteriorating’ law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu's TDP stormed back to power in Andhra Pradesh, sweeping the 2024 assembly polls. The TDP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 164 of the 175 seats.

The TDP won 135 out of 144 contested seats, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) won all 21 seats it contested, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight out of the 10 contested seats. On June 12, Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.