VIJAYAWADA: Police on Wednesday foiled the indefinite hunger strike by YSRC MPs YS Avinash Reddy and P Mithun Reddy in New Delhi as their health condition deteriorated. All the five MPs of the YSRC began their fast on April 6 at AP Bhavan after submitting their resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker demanding special category status to AP.
With both the MPs remaining firm on continuing their fast despite doctors advising them to withdraw their protest as their health condition started deteriorating due to fall in their sugar and blood pressure levels, police entered the scene and shifted Avinash Reddy and Mithun Reddy to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital amid stiff resistance from the YSRC cadre.
While Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy was admitted to hospital on the second day of the fast, Varaprasad was hospitalised on the third day. YV Subba Reddy was admitted to hospital on the fourth day.
Meanwhile, at several places in the State, YSR Congress workers staged a rail roko leading to tension. Police arrested scores of YSRC workers when they tried to enter the Vijayawada Railway Station to stage rail roko demanding special category status. They were later released. YSRC City president Malladi Vishnu, Vijayawada (West) constituency in-charge Vellampalli Srinivas and other leaders tried to barge into the railway station from the Parcel Office side to stop trains. They said the protest was staged in support of the party MPs’ fast in New Delhi, demanding SCS.
Upon receiving information that the Opposition leaders were entering the railway station, the Government Railway Police (GRP) foiled their attempts to stop trains. “We made tight security arrangements at all entry points of the Vijayawada Railway Station to stop the protestors from entering the premises. Passenger safety is our concern,” said a senior GRP official.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao, APCC president N Raghuveera Reddy and other Congress leaders were taken into custody when they created a ruckus at Thummalapalli Kala Kshethram. The Congress leaders tried to garland the statue of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule while a State government-sponsored programme was being organised to celebrate the social reformer’s 192nd birth anniversary.
The arrested agitators were shifted to the nearby police stations. “There are two statues of Jyotirao Phule on the premises of the Thummalapalli Kala Kshethram. Instead of garlanding the statue outside Kalakshetram, the Congress leaders tried to garland the one located on its premises where CM Naidu was to pay tributes to the BC leader as part of the State government’s programme. They were taken into preventive custody and released later,” said Gautam Sawang, Commissioner of Police.
The departure of the Narsapuram-Nidadavole passenger from Eluru and Nanded-Tirupati special train from Ongole was delayed for sometime as a result of the rail roko.A large posse of Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel were deployed at Powerpeta railway station in Eluru to prevent damage to public property and any untoward incidents.