Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y. S. Sharmila, along with around 40 party leaders and cadres, was detained near Kondaveeti Vagu lift pumping scheme (near Vijayawada) in Guntur district while she was on her way to the Secretariat as part of the “Chalo Secretariat” protest call given by the party to highlight the plight of the unemployed youth in the State, on February 22 (Thursday).
A large posse of police deployed at the place to thwart the protest, swooped on Ms. Sharmila and others and shifted them to the Mangalagiri town police station. They were released after two hours.
Speaking to media persons outside the police station, Ms. Sharmila denounced use of police force “to thwart the Congress protest”. She said the police had started detaining Congress leaders and cadres across the State from Wednesday afternoon to prevent them from participating in the proposed protest, to highlight the government failure to keep its promise made to the youth in the State.
The day began on a tempestuous note for Ms. Sharmila and a large number of party leaders and cadres who had reached the party office Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada on Wednesday night to evade “house arrests” and spent the night there to be able to carry out their protest plan the next morning.
The party office turned into a citadel with a large posse of police deployed outside Andhra Ratna Bhavan from the early hours of Thursday to prevent entry or exit of the party leaders. Unable to move out, the party leaders, led by Ms. Sharmila, squatted on the floor inside the premises and raised slogans against the “indifference of the government to the woes of the unemployed youth” and demanding release of the promised “Mega DSC” to fill the 25,000 vacant teacher posts.
Pointing to the barricades set up outside the office, Ms. Sharmila said, “Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government is afraid of us. We are surrounded by thousands of policemen at the moment.”
The State Congress chief said before coming to power Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to fill 2.3 lakh vacant posts in various government departments through the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), issue a job calendar every year besides holding a ‘Mega DSC’ to fill 23,000 vacant posts then. “It has been five years since and none of the promises has been fulfilled,” she said.
Referring to the recent job notification released by the government to fill 6,100 vacant teacher posts through DSC, she said the unemployed youth wanted to know why they were being subjected to such “deception”. She said lakhs of unemployed youth had been spending money in coaching centres to prepare for these exams for the last five years but in vain. “The Congress decided to fight for justice to these young people. But looks like we do not have the freedom to even make a representation at the Secretariat. Journalists in this State don’t have the freedom to write or take up a cause. Is this democracy?” she said.
En route, they formed a human chain at the Swarna Palace junction and raised slogans against Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Former APCC president and CWC member Gidugu Rudra Raju, senior Congress leaders Thulasi Reddy, Koppula Raju, J. D. Seelam, party’s working presidents Shaik Mastan Vali and Sunkara Padmasree and others participated in the protest.
