The Andhra Pradesh bandh called by YSRCP and Left Parties in protest against the apathy of State and Central governments in according Special Status to Andhra Pradesh drew huge response from the public. At the time of writing this report at 1.30 PM. along with YSRCP, various mass organizations, Left parties, student organizations were taking part in the bandh. They were seen successfully persuading the traders to down the shutter at some places while at other the bandh was voluntary. Barring a couple of incidents in Rajahmundry and Vijawadaa, bandh was peaceful.
In many places, people participated in the bandh in a big number as the demand for special category status had percolated down to the masses as the real panacea for all ills the AP inherited from the division of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Left parties took out massive rallies and their workers staged dharnas before RTC bus depots and government offices.
The bandh was a complete and peaceful in Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari, Prakasam, Nellore, Ananthapuram, Kurnool, Kadapa, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts where shops and establishments and educational institutions were closed and people came in to join the protest. In Krishna district former minister K Parasarathi and former MLA Vangaveeti Radha were arrested while they were holding a dharna at RTC depot and students who rushed to the Chief Minister’s camp office were dragged out and pushed into a police van.
In Nellore distirct MP Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy was arrested and in Prakasam district, G Ravi was arrested at Addanki and cadre was arrested at Chirala bus depot. In Visakhaptnam district, Party General Secretary Vijay Sai Reddy along with other leaders was arrested while they were holding dharna at Jagadamba centre. MLA G Eshwari was arrested at Paderu while hundreds of party workers were taken into custody at S Kota.
In Guntur district MLAs A Ramakrishna Reddy (Mangalagiri) and P Ramakrshna Reddy (Macherla) were arrested. In Chittoor district party MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy was arrested at Tirupati while former MLA B Karunakar Reddy was also arrested in the temple town. Other leaders who were held or put on house arrest include Amjad Basha (Kadapa), former MLA Gurnath Reddy, K Venkatrami Reddy (Ananthauram), B Rajsekhar Reddy (Kurnool), MLA Kalavathi (Vizianagaram).
In many places restriction unddr Section 144 while YSRCP leader. MLC Prof. Ummareddy Venkatewarlu said repression had been unleashed to intimidate people from participating in the bandh on Saturday. Ummareddy said people came out in large numbers defying prohibitory orders and condemned the arrest of the party leaders -General Secretaries, to MPs, MLAs, other elected representatives and cadre-in large numbers in all the 13 districts of the State.
