Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his son, Nara Lokesh were on Wednesday put under preventive detention at their residence to prevent them from leading a protest march over alleged attacks on their cadres by the ruling YSRCP leaders.
Police did not allow Chandrababu Naidu to come out of his house at Undavalli in Amaravati as he was about to leave for Guntur town to lead the ‘Chalo Atmakur’ rally.
The Andhra Pradesh Police has put several TDP leaders under house arrest in view of the party’s call for the protest rally alleging political violence by YSRCP.
Former Andhra Pradesh minister and TDP leader Bhuma Akhila Priya was taken into preventive detention at Novotel hotel.
Former TDP MLA Tangirala Sowmya was also detained at her residence in Nandigama town after Sowmya and other party leaders sat on a protest in front of her house for party’s ‘Chalo Atmakur’ rally against YSRCP.
The Police said that the TDP has not been granted permission for ‘Chalo Atamakur’ rally.
Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed in Narasaraopeta, Sattenapalle, Palnadu and Gurajala to prevent any showdown as the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) too called for a counter-protest march.
Tension prevailed around Naidu’s house as TDP leaders coming to meet him were prevented from entering the house.
Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, who came out of the house, took strong exception to the police action. The TDP leader had an argument with the police officials after which he and the party chief were placed under house arrest.
#ChaloAtmakur#ThuglaqRaj pic.twitter.com/n9WUxZc85S
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) September 11, 2019
As the police did not allow Naidu to leave the house, the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister sat on a hunger strike from 8 am which will continue till 8 pm.
During a teleconference with party leaders, Chandrababu Naidu asked them to protest wherever they were stopped by the administration.
Tension prevailed in Guntur town as additional police forces were deployed to foil TDP’s march planned to begin from the camp set up by the party for victims of violence by the ruling party leaders.
Senior police officials till late Tuesday night tried to persuade the inmates of the camp to return to their villages and assured them of security. However, only a few villagers agreed to leave the camp.
TDP alleged that the police is not allowing them to serve food to 150 families sheltered at the camp to force them to leave the camp.
TDP has alleged that its eight workers were killed in the attacks by YSRCP leaders, most of them in Palnadu region. It claimed that 500 TDP activists and sympathisers were attacked since the announcement of election results in May.
The ruling YSRCP on Tuesday announced that it will also conduct ‘Chalo Atmakur’ with victims of the attacks by TDP leaders during the last five years. Its leaders alleged that Naidu is resorting to cheap gimmicks.
Home Minister Sucharita dubbed those at TDP camp in Guntur as “paid artists”.