KURNOOL:As a precautionary measure on Thursday, Kurnool police put under house arrest at least seven different Bar Association presidents, including Kurnool Bar Association chief V Nagalakshmi Devi and as many as 2,000 advocates, who were planning to give a representation to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu seeking establishment of the High Court in Rayalaseema region during his Anantapur visit.
The advocates from all districts of Rayalaseema region have been protesting for the past 35 days seeking establishment of High Court in Kurnool. They have been conducting rallies, relay fast, dharnas and other protests on the issue.But, till today, no government functionary has responded to the advocates’ stir. “With this, the agitators planned to meet the Chief Minister during his visit to Ananatapur district on Thursday. As per the call of Kurnool Bar Association, almost all benches of Kurnool district committees along with practising advocates tried to proceed to Anantapur by vehicles from different places across the district. But, the police foiled their bid and confined them to their homes. Nagalakshmi Devi who was also kept under ‘house arrest’ in Kurnool city, demanded the government to set up High Court in Rayalaseema region.
The High Court should be established in Kurnool to honour the Sribagh Agreement. “We will continue the protest till the government responds positively to our demand,” she added.Reacting sharply to the house arrests of advocates, she slammed the government for its ‘intolerance’ and curbing the right of citizens to protest ‘peacefully’ and express their dissent in ‘a democratic manner’ over the issue of establishment of HC in Rayalaseema region.
CPM activists, lawyers held, freed
Anantapur: The police, as a precautionary measure before the Chief Minister’s district visit, arrested CPM activists and some leaders of Bar Associations who have been agitating for quite sometime seeking establishment of High Court in Rayalaseema, on Wednesday night.
The police suspecting that the CPM leaders and lawyers might organise protests during N Chandrababu Naidu’s district visit, arrested as many as 160 CPM leaders, including V Rambhupal, Inthiyaz, Obulesu and other activists at various places in the district. The police also arrested as many as 250 lawyers, including Bar Association members Harinath Reddy, Narayana Reddy and Raja Reddy. The police conducted raids on their houses on Wednesday and whisked them away to police stations. Some of the leaders were shifted to police stations located at far off places. However, the arrested leaders and lawyers were released after the end of Chief Minister’s programme in Anantapur.
Condemning the preventive arrests, Harinath Reddy told media that the lawyers would continue their agitation till a positive response from the State government to the demand for setting up of High Court in Rayalaseema.The CPM activists have also been agitating for the last one month demanding the fulfilment of all provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act and promises made at the time of bifurcation of the State.