Chandrababu Naidu News: Atrocious, Says Chandrababu Naidu, Under House Arrest; Police Lock Gates

Chandrababu Naidu has been placed under house arrest

Highlights

Chandrababu Naidu, several leaders of his party put under house arrest
Stopped from participating in a massive protest against Andhra government
"You cannot control us by arresting us, the ex-Andhra Chief Minister said

New Delhi: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, his son Nara Lokesh and several leaders of his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have been put under house arrest to prevent them from participating in a massive protest against the government run by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Large gatherings are banned by the police in Palnadu region, seen to be worst affected by violence fuelled by political rivalries. "It's a dark day for democracy," said Mr Naidu, adding the police action is "atrocious" and "unprecedented in history". "This government is violating human rights and fundamental rights. I am warning the government. I am warning police also. You cannot control us by arresting us," Mr Naidu told reporters at his home. He will sit on a fast till 8 pm today. Some of the TDP leaders who are under house arrest are Devineni Avinash, Kesineni Nani and Bhooma Akhilapriya.

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The police barricaded the road outside Mr Naidu's house minutes before his car reached the gate. The former Chief Minister sat in his car for half-an-hour as supporters shouted slogans against the police. Mr Naidu said he will go to Atmakur after his house arrest ends.
The TDP has planned a protest against alleged intimidation by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Chandrababu Naidu's party alleged eight TDP workers have been killed and several face threats from Mr Reddy's party that completed 100 days in power last week.
Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D Gautam Sawang said Mr Naidu was taken into "preventive custody". "...His actions are increasing tensions and creating disturbance to law and order in Palnadu region of Guntur district," the police officer said in a statement.
"The ruling party is trying to strangulate our party across Andhra Pradesh. We were doing our activities in a democratic manner but our entire leadership was put under house arrest. This is the murder of democracy. This is dictatorship... TDP leaders and workers are being harassed. YSRCP MLAs are openly threatening us, saying the police are with them," Mr Lokesh told news agency ANI today.
In turn, the ruling party has also planned a counter-march today in protest against alleged violence unleashed by the previous government led by Mr Naidu. The YSRCP has asked people in Atmakur district and Palnadu region, seen to be worst affected by violence, to come forward and share their complaints. The YSRCP alleged its leaders, workers and supporters were driven out from their villages and false cases were filed against them.
Both the former chief minister and his ruling rival had given a call for a march today to Atmakur, 240 km from Amaravati.
Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh was stopped from participating in protests near his home in Undavalli. He argued with the police that there was no ban on gathering of large groups in Vijayawada and surrounding areas, and they should not stop him from protesting. "It is my fundamental right to protest," Mr Lokesh said.
Over the past three months since the YSRCP came to power, the TDP alleges its activists have been at the receiving end of attacks by the ruling party leaders and cadre. According to the TDP, this has resulted in deaths of eight of its party workers, most of them in the violence-prone Palnadu region of Guntur district. Some 500 party activists have been attacked as well, says the TDP.
Mr Naidu's main target is former Speaker Kodela Sivaprasad Rao, an influential leader of Mr Reddy's party from the region. The YSRCP has denied the allegations of fuelling violence and accused Mr Naidu of making an issue by building a false narrative.
With a massive mandate, Mr Reddy's party decimated the TDP by winning 151 of 175 assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh in the national and state elections held in April and May. Mr Reddy, 46, is the son of YS Rajashekhara Reddy, one of the state's most popular Chief Ministers who died in a chopper crash in 2009.