Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, MLC Nara Lokesh and MLAs K. Atchannaidu and Nimmala Rama Naidu, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna and several activists of Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti (APS) were arrested by the police at Benz Circle here on Wednesday night as they tried to embark on a bus yatra to the districts to garner support for the agitation against the proposed development of three capital cities.
Trouble broke out when Mr. Naidu and others were prevented from staging a march to Auto Nagar, where the buses were parked to branch out to districts on a bus yatra for garnering support for the agitation against the proposed development of three capital cities.
Earlier, Mr. Naidu inaugurated the APS office at the busy junction in the presence of a huge gathering.
Heated arguments and a scuffle ensued between the police and protesters, and it led to Mr. Naidu and his party cadres and APS activists squatting on the road.
Vehicular traffic came to a standstill and the police made Mr. Naidu and others board a department vehicle, but it could not make a headway due to the blockade for sometime. Tension prevailed as the protesters refused to yield and accused the police of highhandedness.
Keys lost
Amidst the chaos, the keys of the police vehicle were apparently lost and the driver tried to start the engine with alternative keys and finally succeeded.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy pushed the State into uncertainty by proposing to shift the capital out of Amaravati on partisan grounds.
He demanded that the Chief Minister rethink and not treat the State, particularly the capital region, as his fiefdom.
Mr. Naidu expressed regret that some farmers who gave their lands for the capital died, and the agony of thousands more was continuing as the government appeared determined to shift the capital on the ground that experts suggested distributed model of development.
