Amaravati, Sept 2026 : YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday criticised the state government over a social media takedown request in which the Andhra Pradesh Police allegedly identified the organisation as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The issue came to light after X informed a user that a request seeking removal of certain posts had originated from an official Andhra Pradesh Police email address and not from the US agency. X reportedly clarified that the request was submitted through a government email account and that the organisation field had identified the sender as “FBI”.
Reacting to the development, Jagan accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s government of using the police machinery to target political criticism. In a post on X, he alleged that the incident represented an attempt to misuse the identity of a foreign law-enforcement agency while seeking removal of posts from the social media platform.
Jagan questioned who authorised the takedown request and why the FBI name was entered as the sender organisation. He also alleged that the action was connected to posts raising questions about the state government’s electoral promises, the District Selection Committee (DSC) recruitment process, Amaravati, the state’s debt and other governance-related issues.
According to reports, the controversy followed a complaint concerning social media posts related to alleged irregularities in the DSC recruitment process. X subsequently told the user who had sought clarification that the request had not originated from the US FBI.
Jagan said the police should focus on maintaining law and order rather than using their official position in what he described as political censorship. He urged the state government to address issues raised by citizens through governance and transparency.
“The police uniform is meant to protect the law, not to enforce your political censorship,” Jagan said, while questioning the use of the name of an American investigative agency in the takedown process.
He also referred to the government’s “Super Six” and “Super Seven” electoral promises and urged the administration to focus on farmers, employment and development.
The former Chief Minister further said social media had made it difficult for governments to control public narratives and argued that criticism should be addressed through performance and transparency.
The controversy has also drawn attention from other YSRCP leaders. YSRCP spokesperson Konda Rajiv Gandhi questioned the use of the FBI name in communications with social media platforms and sought clarification from the state government and police authorities.
The South First reported that police sources confirmed the FBI name had been mentioned in the request and said the move was intended to ensure a response from X after earlier requests had allegedly not received action. The report said officials approached for comment did not respond.
As of Wednesday, there was no immediate public response from the Telugu Desam Party or the Andhra Pradesh Police to Jagan’s allegations, according to reports.
The episode has added to the ongoing political dispute in Andhra Pradesh over the use of social media, government criticism and requests to online platforms for removal of allegedly unlawful content.
