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YSR Congress Party leader and Former MLA Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy’s house in Nellore, was vandalised by alleged supporters of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday, July 7, over the derogatory remarks he made against TDP MLA Vemireddy Prashanti Reddy.
A group of men, believed to be TDP supporters, stormed Prasanna’s house when he was away, damaging furniture, glassware, and two cars parked outside.
The attack came hours after former Kovur MLA Prasanna made derogatory remarks against Prashanti Reddy, claiming that she had married TDP MP and mining baron Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy (VPR) by blackmailing him.
A few days ago, Prasanna alleged that the TDP leaders in Kovur were taking credit for projects in the constituency started by the previous YSRCP government. In response, Prashanti alleged that Prasanna was corrupt, and that he had a “PhD in corruption.”
Reacting to her comments, the YSRCP leader made several misogynistic remarks against her at a public meeting on July 7.
“She blackmailed VPR and threatened him into marrying her. He’s a madman. No one understands why he married her. If he had approached me, I’d have found someone better for him. He fell into this well,” Prasanna said to a crowd responding with cheers.
He went on to say, “Everyone knows her history before she married VPR… Look at her luck, she married him and became an MLA.”
He claimed that Prashanti had a “PhD” in different towns and cities, adding, “You can understand what I mean by PhD.”
He also alleged that certain people were plotting to murder VPR for his wealth.
Invoking his family’s political clout, Prasanna said “My father and I have represented the Kovur constituency nearly 9 times.”
Prasanna’s father, the late Nallapareddy Srinivasulu Reddy (NSR), was a senior politician and three-time Kovur MLA from TDP and then Congress.
Prasanna is a five-time MLA from Kovur, previously from TDP and then from YSRCP. In 2024, he lost the election against Prashanti Reddy.
Prashanti and her husband VPR, founder and promoter of VPR Mining Infra Private Limited, quit YSRCP and joined TDP ahead of the 2024 Assembly and general elections. VPR is now the Nellore Lok Sabha MP, while Prashanti is the Kovur legislator.
Ahead of the 2024 elections too, Prasanna had allegedly made misogynistic remarks about VPR being Prashanti’s second husband. At the time, Prashanti had clarified to the public that she was previously married to Somireddy Harshvardhan Reddy, brother of senior TDP leader Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy. She also mentioned that the Somireddy family was related to the Nallapareddy family by marriage.
After Harshvardhan’s demise, Prashanti married VPR.
Meanwhile, Prashanti condemned the attack on Prasanna’s house, and said that she had spoken to TDP workers and placated them. “I condemn this attack, whoever did it. By the time I got to know of it, it was all over,” she said.
She also said that she respected Prasanna’s father Srinivasulu Reddy. “But his son is making such vile remarks. I am like a sister to him, but he said such vile things about me,” Prashanti said.
TDP workers held a protest in Nellore against Prasanna’s comments on Prashanti on Tuesday, July 8.
“I criticised his politics and called him corrupt. But he reacted with personal, misogynistic remarks using indecent language,” Prashanti said.
She also threatened to file a defamation case along with a complaint to the Women’s Commission. “I want to tell YSRCP leaders and workers who are supporting Prasanna Kumar Reddy to show the video of his comments to the women in their family. If they don’t go beat him with their slippers, then they are supporting him. I want to tell Jagan not to support such vile politicians,” she said.
Following the attack on Prasanna’s house, former Chief Minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to him over the phone to inquire about his safety and expressed serious concern, according to the YSRCP.
According to Prasanna, the attack happened when he and his son were away, and only his mother and a cook were home. He alleged that the attackers were drunk and broke the CCTV cameras.
Andhra politics and misogyny
Responding to the incident, TDP general secretary and son of CM Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh, condemned Prasanna’s remarks on Prashanti. “Do YSRCP leaders hate women so much? … It is a crime and tragedy to make insulting personal remarks on woman MLA Vemireddy Prashanti Reddy. YSRCP leaders seem to be inspired by Jagan, who has shunned his sister and mother. This isn’t Jagan’s ‘jungle raj’ that will tolerate insults to women, our people’s government will stand by women.”
Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan also condemned Prasanna’s comments. “It has become a habit for YSRCP leaders to make misogynistic remarks. The comments made against Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanti Reddy by the constituency’s former legislator are objectionable.”
The use of misogynistic language in political rhetoric to attack women politicians and the women relatives of male politicians has been a recurring theme in Andhra Pradesh’s politics.
In 2021, when Jagan was in power, CM Naidu who was then Leader of Opposition broke down over insulting remarks against his wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari by YSRCP leaders. He vowed to step into the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly again only after returning to power.
Pawan Kalyan too has lashed out at Jagan and his party leaders on multiple occasions for repeatedly making personal remarks about the fact that he has married thrice.
When the YSRCP was in power, TDP leader and former Minister former Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy too made misogynistic remarks against former Minister Roja, calling her a “woman of the streets.”
After the TDP-JSP-BJP coalition came to power, a YouTuber and TDP worker named Chebrolu Kiran Kumar was suspended from the party and arrested for making obscene remarks against Jagan’s wife, YS Bharathi.
