Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday sharply attacked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu over the suspension of five in-service teachers who had met Union government representatives to seek exemption from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). Jagan demanded immediate revocation of the suspensions and a formal apology from Naidu, warning that YSRCP would extend full legal support to the affected teachers.

What Triggered the Suspensions

According to Jagan, teachers belonging to associations in YSR Kadapa district were suspended on the first day, followed by teachers from Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts on the second day. The five teachers had travelled to meet Union government officials — accompanied by YSRCP Members of Parliament — to submit a representation seeking relief from the TET requirement for those already in service.

The state government reportedly labelled the visit 'politically motivated' and moved to suspend the teachers. Jagan questioned the legal basis for the action, asking what offence the teachers had committed by submitting a representation to the Centre.

The TET Dispute and Its Scale

At the heart of the controversy is a requirement that in-service teachers — many with years of classroom experience — must now qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test, a condition that did not exist when they were originally appointed. Jagan said more than one lakh senior teachers across Andhra Pradesh are affected by this mandate.

Critics argue the retroactive imposition of the TET is both unfair and disruptive, forcing experienced educators to sit for an examination that was never a condition of their original employment. The state government's position on the merits of the TET requirement has not been publicly detailed in response to these specific suspensions.

Jagan's Attack on Naidu's NDA Role

Jagan turned the political heat up by pointing to Naidu's position as a partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. 'Should you not have been the one to urge the Union Government to remove this TET requirement? As a partner in the NDA, why did you not pass a resolution in the Assembly and exert pressure on the Centre?' Jagan said.

He accused Naidu of abandoning the teachers' cause and then punishing them for seeking redress independently. 'You failed to do what you were supposed to do. You abandoned the problems of senior teachers. But when they themselves tried to bring their problems to the notice of the Union Government with the support of our party MPs, you branded them politically motivated and suspended them,' Jagan stated.

Broader Grievances Against the Naidu Government

Jagan also broadened his attack to include what he described as unfulfilled promises to government employees. He alleged that despite the government being in its third year, commitments made in the Telugu Desam Party's election manifesto — including interim relief, a Pay Revision Commission, and resolution of five pending Dearness Allowance (DA) instalments — remain unaddressed.

'People are watching the manner in which you are acting with the arrogance of power and pursuing dictatorial policies,' Jagan said, warning that YSRCP would take the suspensions seriously and challenge them through legal channels. With assembly elections still years away, the TET row is shaping up as an early flashpoint in what is likely to be an extended political battle between the two rivals.