Caught on the wrong foot over the seeping of rain water and fragility of the much-touted temporary secretariat after it faced just one moderate rain on Tuesday, the TDP Government in Andhra Pradesh began its efforts to deflect people’s attention. It has apparently decided that counter attack is the best way to confront criticism. So, it has fallen back on its strategy of attacking its favourite whipping boy - the YSRCP.

The temporary secretariat at Velagupudi was flooded and at several places the plastering peeled off. In one building, the officials themselves had to demolish a weakened wall. Water entered Block 4 and the revenue department had water inside the office. As for the chamber of the Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, it was flooded with rain water with a profusely leaking roof.

But, the TDP on Wednesday said that there was a sabotage angle and said it would order a CID inquiry. AP Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasad went to the Assembly building and said there was a conspiracy to defame the government. He said some pipes were deliberately cut so that rain water entered into the building. He said the material would be sent to the forensic lab and ''conspirators'' would not be allowed to go scot free.

Significantly, media was barred from entering into the building. YSRCP MLAs staged a dharna demanding that they be allowed to go on a fact-finding mission along with the media representatives.

Later, Kodela spoke to the media. He was evasive when the reporters asked him how a single cut pipe could cause so much flooding. The media representatives also sought to know why they were not allowed into the building on Tuesday. The Speaker did not reply and merely said that facts would come to light once the probe was done.