Film star-turned-politician K.Chiranjeevi, a Congress MP, has lambasted Mr.N.Chandrababu Naidu’s government for mishandling the agitation of the Kapunadu leader Mr.Mudragada Padmanabham, who was arrested two days ago at his residence in Kirlampudi of East Godavari district hours after he began an indefinite fast.
In a statement issued a few minutes ago, Mr.Chiranjeevi, who had launched ‘Praja Rajyam’ party with a solid support from his Kapu community, strongly condemned the arrest and alleged that police misbehaved with Mudragada’s family in an “inhuman” way.
Taking objection to the blockade of some news channels by the TDP government, the MP said: “It (gagging media) is the height of the Government’s dictatorship.” He sought to know as to how the Chief Minister would justify the series of arrests now after having announced that a group of people descended from Rayalaseema was responsible for the situation.
Meanwhile, a video clipping showing Mr.Padmanabham trying to hit his head against a wall in protest against the ‘illegal confinement’ is doing rounds in social media. It may be recalled that the police forced their way in by breaking the doors and stopping Mr.Padmanabham from consuming the pesticide he had kept at his side. Police took him to a hospital in Rajahmundry where doctors washed the agitating his stomach as a precautionary measure and also collected his blood samples for analysis.
Mr.Padmanabham, who is demanding reservation for Kapus, is demanding a government order withdrawing the cases on accused in the violent incidents at Tuni that led to the burning of two police stations and the Ratnachal Express on January 31.
Mr.Chiranjeevi observed that Mr.Chandrababu Naidu is not showing the required political maturity in solving the sensitive social issue but behaving with vengeance against the democratic spirit. He asked the government to solve the issues with a positive approach instead of resorting to confrontationist attitude.
Meanwhile, journalists across Andhra Pradesh are protesting against the government’s reported order to block the broadcast of Saakshi channel in the State.
