Andhra Pradesh BJP president Somu Veerraju and several workers of the party were arrested by the Kadapa district police in Proddatur town on Tuesday when they were staging a protest against the installation of a statue of Tipu Sultan.
The police put up barricades on the main roads on Monday night to prevent the entry of Mr. Veerraju into the town and personnel were deployed on the Jinnah Road and the municipal office area since Monday night.
On Tuesday, BJP activists led by Mr. Veerraju staged a demonstration protesting the move to install the statue. When the issue went out of control, police led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Proddatur) Y. Prasada Rao took the protesters into custody.
Local legislator Rachamallu Sivaprasad Reddy laid the foundation stone for the statue recently, to which the BJP raised an objection, dubbing it an ‘unconstitutional move’. The MLA laid the foundation stone for the statue allegedly without taking the necessary approval from the District Statues Committee headed by the Collector.
BJP workers raised slogans against the MLA accusing him of resorting to ‘minority appeasement’. They also condemned the State government of turning a blind eye to such a ‘sensitive issue’.
“The government is trying to divert public attention from its series of failures,” Mr. Veerraju said.
