Chandrababu Naidu, son Lokesh under house arrest by AP Police
HYDERABAD/ NEW DELHI : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu was on Wednesday morning put under preventive detention at a time when he along with his party workers were set to take out ‘Chalo Atmakur’ rally.
The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, following the house arrest, sat on a hunger strike to protest against the said move. His son was also put under preventive detention at their residence, following an altercation with the police.
Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang issued a statement, through the Chief Minister’s Office, that Naidu was taken into “preventive custody” as “his actions are increasing tensions and creating disturbance to law and order in the Palnadu region of Guntur district.”
Meanwhile, party leaders and workers who were on their way to Naidu’s residence were stopped by police and taken into preventive custody. Further, section 144 was imposed in Narasarao peta, Sattenapalle, Palnadu and Gurajala.
Andhra Pradesh police have put several TDP leaders under house arrest in view of party’s call for ‘Chalo Atmakur’ rally following political violence allegations made by YSRCP. Police said that TDP did not receive any permission to take out ‘Chalo Atmakur’ rally.
A large contingent of police, including several DSPs, tied the main entrance gate of Naidu’s riverfront residence with ropes and also shut other gates to prevent him from coming out. Talking to reporters inside the compound, the former Chief Minister termed the police action as “atrocious” and “unprecedented in history.”
“This government is violating human rights and fundamental rights. I am warning the government. I am warning police also. You cannot control us by arresting us,” Mr Naidu told reporters at his home.
“The situation is horrible. Many of our party leaders, including MPs and MLAs, have been taken into custody at various places. Several others were kept under house arrest. All this held mirror to the nefarious mentality of the ruler (Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy),” Naidu remarked.
The Leader of Opposition announced that he would not give up and certainly undertake the Atmakuru visit whenever police allowed him. Alleging that about 120 Scheduled Caste families have been driven out of their village by the YSR Congress and police, he said, “they are taking shelter in a camp organized by the TDP. I wanted to take them back to the village and ensure that everyone there lived in harmony.”
“I will see how long they will keep me under house arrest. I will not be cowed down. I will stand by the victims and fight for their rights,” Naidu asserted.
Countering the TDP chief’s claims, state Animal Husbandry Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana said Naidu was indulging in “shameless politics” by using “paid artists” as victims. “For five years, people of Palnadu region faced repression at the hands of the then Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and Gurazala MLA Y Srinivasa Rao. What did Naidu do then? Palnadu is now peaceful after Jagan Mohan Reddy became Chief Minister,” Ramana pointed out.
The day began with police laying siege to the TDP president’s residence on the Krishna river bank. Both Naidu and his son Lokesh were not allowed to come out, following which the latter picked up an argument with the police officials.
Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) and Rajya Sabha member K Ravindra Kumar were detained by the police on the Prakasam Barrage as they tried to proceed towards Naidu’s house. TDP Deputy Leader K Atchannaidu, who managed to reach Naidu’s residence area on a two-wheeler, was stopped from going in and later taken into custody.
In Vijayawada city, police barged into the five-star hotel room, where former minister Bhuma Akhila Priya was staying, and took her into custody. Several other leaders were either placed under house arrest or taken into custody by police.
Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh was stopped from participating in protests near his home in Undavalli. He argued with the police that there was no ban on gathering of large groups in Vijayawada and surrounding areas, and they should not stop him from protesting. “It is my fundamental right to protest,” Mr Lokesh said.
Over the past three months since the YSRCP came to power, the TDP alleges its activists have been at the receiving end of attacks by the ruling party leaders and cadre.
With a massive mandate, Mr Reddy’s party decimated the TDP by winning 151 of 175 assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh in the national and state elections held in April and May. Mr Reddy, 46, is the son of YS Rajashekhara Reddy, one of the state’s most popular Chief Ministers who died in a chopper crash in 2009.( With Agency Inputs ).
