Amaravati: For a second consecutive day on Sunday, opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh continued protests over the arrest of party supremo and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
The police placed many TDP leaders across the state under house arrest and detained several others to foil protests.
Former minister Kollu Ravindra was arrested in Vijayawada. He has been actively participating in the protest programmes since Saturday morning.
Several key leaders of the party were placed under house arrest for a second day. Former minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy was put under house arrest at Vennelapalem in Visakhapatnam district. Visakhapatnam West MLA Ganababu and former MLA P. Srinivasa Rao were also not allowed to come out of their houses.
TDP leaders sitting on hunger strike in MVP Colony in Visakhapatnam were arrested by the police. The hunger strike camp was removed by the police personnel, who forcibly lifted the leaders sitting on the fast. The opposition party alleged that even women leaders were not spared.
In Guntur, former minister Kanna Lakshminarayana was placed under house arrest. Police did not allow several former ministers, former MLAs and other leaders from coming out of their houses in undivided Guntur district.
On a call given by TDP, several leaders sat on mass hunger strike at Prathipadu in Guntur district in solidarity with Naidu.
Kanna Lakshminarayana termed Naidu’s arrest in the Skill Development Corporation case as illegal. He said the YSRCP government was trying to implicate Naidu in a false case. The senior leader said Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was targeting those questioning his government. The former minister said the YSRCP government will have to pay the price in the people's court.
TDP leaders were also placed under house arrest in Nellore district. Police stepped up security around the house of Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy as a large number of TDP workers were gathering there. Police erected barricades to stop protestors from gathering there. For the second day, the MLA was kept under house arrest.
TDP leaders staged a protest against Naidu’s arrest in his Assembly constituency Kuppam in Chittoor district. They sat on a hunger strike in solidarity with Naidu. MLA K. Srikanth said that the Jagan government’s days were numbered.
Amid reports of protests by TDP leaders, workers were pouring in from various parts of the state. Carrying TDP flags, the party workers took out rallies, staged road blockades and sat on hunger strike.
—IANS