High drama prevailed on Thursday morning after several TDP leaders from Guntur and Krishna districts were prevented from going towards the residence of party president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The TDP leaders said they wanted to stage a protest at the Praja Vedika, the pre-fabricated structure that had been demolished by the YSRCP government exactly an year ago on June 25, 2019, hours after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the orders saying that it was an illegal structure built in violation of the River Conservation Act.
The police blocked the road leading to Praja Vedika located adjacent to the residence of Mr. Naidu on the Karakatta, the narrow flood bank of the Krishna.
While the police claimed that the TDP leaders gathered in large numbers in violation of Section 144 of the CrPC, the party leaders said they were going to attend a meeting.
A few TDP leaders were bundled into vans and taken to the Mangalagiri police station where they were let off.
TDP general secretary Varla Ramaiah and former Ministers Kollu Ravindra, Alapati Rajendra Prasad and Devineni Umamaheswara Rao were among those who were arrested.
“What is wrong in showing people the way this government dismantled a pre-fabricated structure constructed at a cost of ₹9.5 crore? We want to highlight the way the government has been targeting the Opposition leaders,” said Mr. Ramaiah.
