The Jana Sena on Wednesday condemned the house arrest of its leaders in Nellimarla Assembly constituency in North Andhra region. The Jana Sena wondered why its leaders were kept under house arrest in Nellimarla when chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was visiting Bhogapuram.

Jana Sena political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar took strong exception to the police arresting the party leaders and keeping some of them under house arrest. He said that party leaders Thummi Lakshmi Raj, Pathiwada Krishnaveni, Pathiwada Acchannaidu and Kari Appala Raju, besides others, were kept under house arrest.

He said that Jagan Mohan Reddy was living under fear because of which the police were arresting the opposition leaders. He questioned the rationale in arresting the Nellimarla leaders when the chief minister was visiting Bhogapuram.

Manohar also took strong exception to the police stopping vehicles on the national highway when the chief minister was travelling by helicopter. How would the vehicles on the road cause inconvenience to the helicopter, he asked.

He said that the police have stopped vehicles between Palasa in Srikakulam district to Anakapalli when the chief minister was flying. He said that if the chief minister travels by road, the shops are closed, trees are cut and barricades are put up all along the road. He blamed the chief minister and the state government for cutting trees to facilitate the travel of the chief minister.

Terming Jagan Mohan Reddy as one-time chief minister, the Jana Sena leaders sought to advise him to restrain from causing destruction by cutting trees, closing shops and stopping vehicle movements on the roads. He also sought to advise the state police to stop harassing the people whenever the chief minister moved out of his Tadepalli palace.