Chaos prevailed on the National Highway when Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s convoy was stopped by the police for a brief while, at Yendada, near here, on Thursday evening.
Mr. Naidu had come on a two-day visit to the north Andhra region on Wednesday. After addressing a public meeting in Srikakulam, he had returned to the city last night.
On Thursday evening, Mr. Naidu was proceeding to Tallavalasa village, near here, to participate in the ‘Badhude, Badhudu’ programme of the party to protest against the “anti-people” politicies of the YSRCP government.
At Yendada, he planned to take a detour towards Rushikonda and visit the APTDC site, where the APTDC cottages were demolished for construction of new ones.
The police stopped the convoy saying it had no permission to visit the APTDC site. Mr. Naidu tried to talk to a police official, but the latter said permission was given only for the meeting, and declined to allow the convoy towards Rushikonda. Later, the convoy was allowed to proceed towards the meeting venue.
Meanwhile, a large number of party workers, who gathered outside the GITAM campus, near Rushikonda, were whisked away by the police in autorickshaws.
Telugu Mahila leader V. Anita and others protested against the arrest of the party workers, who had come to welcome Mr. Naidu and not to stage any protest. They alleged that the police, who had no time to protect women and ensure Law and Order in the State, had come in large numbers to arrest the TDP workers.
Earlier, addressing the party workers, Mr. Naidu elaborated on the “failures” of the YSRCP government such as “high taxation, hike in power tariff and mounting debt.” He called upon the party workers to save the State by enlightening the people about the failures of the government.
“The party workers should make people understand that the freebies such as Amma Vodi are being taken away by the government in the form of hike in power tariff and taxes,” Mr. Naidu said.
‘Destructive regime’
The YSRCP government had borrowed ₹8 lakh crore, and it should understand that it was the people who had to bear the interest burden, Mr. Naidu said, and added that the “destructive regime” of the YSRCP government had completed three years.
