CHITTOOR: Tension prevailed at the Andhra-Karnataka border on Wednesday morning as police prevented TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu from conducting a roadshow as part of his three-day tour to Kuppam, his home turf.
It may be noted that the State government on Tuesday had issued an order prohibiting public meetings on national and State highways, and municipal and Panchayat roads days after 11 people lost their lives in two stampedes during Naidu’s programmes in Nellore’s Kandukur and Guntur.
Citing the fresh GO, police removed the stage set up at Kenamakanapalli where Naidu was scheduled to hold ‘Rachabanda’ programme. They seized his campaign vehicle and shifted the driver to Gudipalli Police station. This resulted in a verbal duel between the TDP cadre and police.
Eventually, police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the agitating party activists, who tried to violate the restrictions by participating in the roadshow. As many as 10 people were injured. A police team led by Palamaner DSP N Sudhakar Reddy intercepted the TDP chief’s vehicles when he reached the border of his constituency at Pedduru from Bengaluru.
A visibly furious Naidu sought to know why he was being denied permission to visit his home constituency. When the police officer explained that GO No. 1 was in force, Naidu exclaimed, “Madras Presidency, including Andhra Pradesh, is exempted from The Police Act, 1861. How can the government now issue a GO based on the Act?”
Reminding the DSP that he has worked as CM for 14 years, the 72-year-old went ballistic and found fault with the police for serving him a notice and asking him to sign the acknowledgement.
“The tour programme was sent to the Director General of Police and Chittoor SP even before the GO was issued,” Naidu asserted. After the TDP chief insisted on a written explanation for denying his roadshow, the DSP reportedly submitted the same reasons that were issued in a notice to his PA Manohar on Tuesday. When Naidu demanded the police to allow him to conduct his roadshow to address the public, police urged him to organise the meeting in a closed-door environment.
Taking strong exception to the police seizing his campaign vehicle, Naidu said he would not leave the place till the vehicle is returned. Following this, he went on a padayatra to Pedduru village in Santhipuram mandal.
Claiming that the GO has no legal sanctity, the TDP leader said, “The Chief Minister should answer under what Act the government has issued the order. Questioning how the government can prevent him from meeting his own people in his constituency, Naidu lashed out at Jagan and said, “Fearing defeat in 2024, Jagan is resorting to such actions. They brought in a GO saying any meetings should be held under the mercy of police and the CM.” “No one has dared to touch my campaign vehicle in the last 45 years, but Jagan has stopped it now,” the TDP chief added.