VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday directed police to effectively implement the GO 1 brought out by the government to restrict public meetings and rallies on national highways and State roads.
“There should not be a situation where people lose their lives due to conduct of meetings on roads,’’ he asserted.
The State government issued the GO in January following two incidents where more than 10 people lost their lives in a public meeting and congregation at Kandukur in the Prakasam district and in Guntur. In Kandukur, a stampede took place during TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s roadshow, in which 11 persons died, while three others died in a stampede that took place minutes after Naidu left a private event in Guntur.
Following the two incidents, the government came up with the GO in the first week of January imposing curbs on holding public meetings and rallies on national highways and State roads. During a review of law and order in the State, Jagan directed police to enforce the GO strictly. Without naming any party, he said some people were trying to create a false impression that there was a huge turnout at their meets.