Tension has gripped a Vijayawada suburb in Andhra Pradesh following violent clashes between supporters of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The state police have clamped prohibitory orders at Gannavaram town, about 7 km from the Vijayawada airport, after a mob attacked the local TDP office, set vehicles on fire and damaged furniture. The TDP supporters then tried to march towards the local YSCRP office, before being stopped by the police.
According to leaders of the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP, the attack was carried out by supporters of Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan, an MLA of the ruling YSR Congress Party, over remarks made against him.
Thirteen people, including TDP's national spokesperson Kommireddy Pattabhiram, have been arrested. Police have clamped prohibitory orders in the area to keep the situation under control.
Shocking visuals from the TDP office in Gannavaram captured a vehicle set on fire and a mob throwing stones as police tried to control the situation.
Joshua, Krishna district police chief, told NDTV that four cases have been registered in connection with the violence. One of these relates to an alleged attack by TDP workers on Circle Inspector Kanaka Rao when he tried to stop them from marching to the YSRCP office. "They threw stones. The Inspector suffered a head injury. He has received seven stitches and is currently in the ICU,'' the police officer said. TDP spokesperson Pattabhiram and the others have been charged under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Indian Penal Code Sections relating to attempt to murder and voluntarily causing hurt. Another case has also been booked against TDP leaders on the complaint of a YSCRP sarpanch, the police said.
The district police chief said that while they had not received any complaint from the TDP, they have registered a case of rioting and wrongful restraint based on visuals of the violence, now viral.
The police said a sharp exchange between leaders of the two parties preceded yesterday's massive clash.
The heated exchange between Gannavaram MLA Mohan and TDP leaders began over the Sankalpa Siddhi scam, in which the accused allegedly cheated customers after collecting crores under a multi-level marketing scheme promising good returns.
After the scam came to light, the TDP accused Mr Mohan and another YSRCP legislator, Kodali Nani, of involvement in the multi-crore fraud. TDP spokesperson Kommireddy Pattabhiram demanded that the role of these ruling party leaders must be investigated.
Mr Mohan responded by filing a defamation case against the TDP spokesperson and dared him to take him on in an election. He termed the allegations baseless and said it was a conspiracy by the Opposition party to malign his image.
In what further fuelled the war of words, Mr Mohan recently called TDP chief Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh "psycho" who were "killing people during their meetings" -- an apparent reference to the deaths of 11 people in stampedes at two political meetings of the TDP chief last month.
Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh are due in 2024, along with the general election, but the two main parties -- YSRCP and the TDP -- have already started exchanging barbs to raise the poll pitch ahead of the big fight.
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