VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has promised to effectively streamline police operations within a month. This came after a law and order issue was raised by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Pawan Kalyan raised the issue at the end of the Cabinet meeting. He cited “the poor law and order situation and disinformation campaigns against the state government and coalition leaders due to police inaction.”

The vice-CM explained that he had raised the issue the day before during a public event, because he was concerned about the “inaction of the police” in the face of abusive messages targeting, among others, members of his family.

Pawan said some YSRC leaders are intentionally stoking tensions through provocative online posts. He said he was outraged at the level of indecency of these messages, which “targeted even women sitting at home”. “Some officers adopted a soft attitude towards the YSRC leadership,” he said.

“Several officials, who supported YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during his tenure as chief minister, continue to hold important positions in the police department. The indifference shown by some SPs, when contacted for aid, is unacceptable,” Pawan said.

The deputy chief minister added that lower level officers like DSPs and CIs were not showing a sense of responsibility. The Chief Minister was quick to respond to Pawan’s concerns, saying the current state of police functioning had a lot to do with the failures of the previous government. Naidu recognized that there was an urgent need to correct this sense of drift.

The CM said, “We will overhaul the police system within a month. Law and order will be strictly enforced, and there will be no leniency towards individuals who launch abuse against others via social media. In response, Pawan Kalyan pointed out that corruption existed within the police department. Some SPs showed a lack of seriousness in the exercise of their responsibilities. The Chief Minister has promised to hold regular discussions to streamline and improve police operations within a month, it is learnt.