VIJAYAWADA:The round table on ‘Attack on Musunuru Tahsildar’ organised by Poura Spandana Vedika here Saturday, condemned the incident and demanded the immediate arrest of Denduluru TDP MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar, the accused in the case.
Speakers at the round table expressed their concern over increasing attacks on government employees while discharging the duties and wondered how they can be expected to function effectively with such insecure feeling.
“How can a chief minister, who claims himself to be techno-savvy and insists on everyone using modern technology for better communication, say he is not aware of the incident. Even after coming to the incident, instead of initiating action against the erring MLA, he is dragging the issue in the name of inquiry committees,” said APCC spokesperson Kolanukonda Sivaji.
He reminded that it is the duty of the government to save the officers and not to make excuses for those who were guilty of attacks. Agreeing with Sivaji, City Congress president Malladi Vishnu said why revenues were being targeted. “The chief minister claims he will end rowdyism, while opening a police department’s mobile application here in Vijayawada, but the steps being taken by him prove otherwise. Why is Naidu continuing to shield his party MLA who openly claims he has several cases pending against him?” he sought to know and recalled that a rowdy-sheet was opened against the MLA during Naidu’s erstwile government in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh.
He alleged that every TDP minister and leader had links with the sand mafia and demanded that the CM set right his own house before claiming ‘Mr Clean’ image and delivering lectures against corruption.
Mahila Congress president Padmasri said if the government failed to bring the issue to its logical conclusion by having the TDP MLA Prabhakar arrested, the people would lose faith in him.
AIDWA leader Rama Devi, CPI leader Durga Bhavani said it was not the issue of Musunuru tahsildar Vanajakshi alone, but of hundreds of women working in various parts of the state. They said Vanajakshi needed to stand firm until justice was done to her.
VV Krishna Rao of Samatha Party said if a compromise was reached, it would only prove that the government could get away with anything. He appealed to the woman officer to stand firm. He expressed concern over the sand, liquor and mining mafias spreading their tentacles everywhere and dictating terms to the society.
YSRC trade union leader P Gautham Reddy said the attack on woman officer showed that there was no democracy in the state. He wondered, when the government could have a sitting MLA of opposition party arrested for simply pointing a finger at an officer, why the ruling party MLA was allowed to go scot free when he was accused of attacking a woman tahsildar.
CPM city secretary D Kashinath and CPI city secretary D Shankar also condemned the attack and demanded justice to the woman officer.