Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu’s ‘Vastunna Meekosam’ on Sunday witnessed better turnout than the earlier three days in Adilabad district.
Sensing that Naidu was disappointed with the poor response to his yatra, party leaders mobilised people for Naidu’s whistle stop tour.
However, the party leaders are getting anxious over their party president’s ill health.
Despite, severe pain in his back and legs and doctors’ advise to take rest for at least one day, the TDP president continued with his ‘Vastunna Meekosam’ padayatra on the 69th day this morning.
Naidu began his walkathon from Arli village crossroads in Kuntala mandal, two hours behind the schedule, at 2.30 p.m., on the fourth day of his yatra in Adilabad district and covered just 11 km, instead of the usual 16 km, which he used to walk daily.
Addressing a gathering at Chalkpelly village in Kuntala mandal, Naidu promised to provide nine-hour free power and waive crop loans of farmers if voted to power in 2014 general elections.
Naidu ended his yatra at Gundampally crossroads late in the evening.
He launched his walkathon at Hindupuram village in Anantapur district on 2nd October. On Saturday, the party leaders in the district, along with some tribal organisations, staged a dharna in Utnoor demanding suspension of party MPs, who abstained from voting on FDI in retail sector in Rajya Sabha, and party MLA Suman Rathod (Khanapur), who was booked in a land registration case in Hyderabad.
Rathod has been absconding for the last two days and police are searching for him. Meanwhile, the YSR Congress and the TRS leaders alleged that the TDP president and the Opposition leader was having a tacit understanding with the Congress government. “He is doing a padayatra against the government’s policies but saw to it that his MPs abstained from the voting on FDI to indirectly help the government pass the bill,” they said. Party district unit president and Boath MLA G Nagesh, Adilabad MP Ramesh Rathod, other party leaders and activists took part in the yatra.
In the wake of a recce by Maoists during Naidu’s yatra in Utnoor last year, police, as part of precautionary measures, are holding discussions with surrendered Maoists as Naidu will tour Agency areas after a couple of days, as part of his yatra.