YSR Congress activists were arrested from across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. The activists were staging protests and enforcing a bandh call to demand special status for Andhra Pradesh.
YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave a bandh call followed by which all the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh supported him. From the early hours of Saturday, all the protestors started staging a dharna at bus depots, district headquarters, collectorates and government offices.
They shouted slogans and carried placards and banners. YSRCP members blamed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for his double standards and decrying the attitude of the central government.
They also said that Chandrababu Naidu always neglected the issue of Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh. At several districts, agitators were carrying out peaceful protests but police forced district headquarters to move the agitator. They were arrested and taken away in the police vans.
In cities like Tirupati, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam, people voluntarily supported the bandh call demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh. All the workers reached bus depots in Andhra Pradesh and started their protest. They did not allow a single bus to leave the depots.
Speaking to the media at the protest venues, they said "special category status will increase the job opportunities and pave the way for the development of rural areas. However, Chandrababu Naidu is ignoring the benefits to the people and consequently forcing the people to take to the streets."
Addressing the media, YSRCP leader Kotam Pratap Reddy said "the chief minister has no right to prevent peaceful protests with an iron hand. If Chandrababu Naidu himself cannot demand the Centre for special category status due to his political compulsions, then he should at least let the opposition stage dharnas and protests for the demand. He can then show these protests to the Central leadership and highlight the need for special status. The incidents of the last few days clearly indicate that the CM has clearly failed in highlighting the demands of the people and thus their long-term welfare."
BY M. DIVYA SRI
