Congress leaders on way to garland Phule statue arrested

Congress leaders, including some former Union Ministers, were taken into custody when they tried to pay tributes to the statue of Jyothirao Phule in front of the Tummalapalli Kalaksheram here on Wednesday.

Rajya Sabha Member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, PCC president N Raghuveera Reddy, former Union Minister J.D. Seelam, former State Ministers Kanumuru Bapiraju, C. Ramachandraiah, Congress leaders G. Rudraraju, K. Sivaji, Akula Srinivas Kumar and state Mahila Congress president Sunkara Padmasri were taken into custody.

When the Congress leaders went to pay floral tributes to the statue of Jyothirao Phule on the occasion of his 191st birth anniversary, the police stopped them. “The police said that we should not go to garland the statue. And then said they were going to arrest us and forced us into vehicles,” Mr Sivaji said.

The Congress leaders would meet the DGP on Thursday to lodge a complaint against the policemen on duty at the Tummalapalli Kalakshetram, Mr Sivaji added.

The behaviour of policemen towards Congress leaders is an affornt to the weaker sections, alleged Mr. Raghuveera Reddy.

Resolutions

Addressing media after a meeting of the PCC exectuive committee meeting here on Wednesday, he said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu should apologise for the behaviour of the police.

Mr. Reddy said that the PCC Executive Committee condemned the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi undermined both democracy and the Indian Constitution by preventing Congress and other party MPs from moving a no-confidence against the NDA government for failing to fulfil promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and assurances made by the former Prime Minister in the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Modi was now trying to deceive the people by announcing that he would go on fast.

“The Modi Government ran away from the Lok Sabha. Brought disrepute to Parliament and Democracy,” Mr Reddy alleged.

The Executive Committee in a resolution said that both the BJP and the TDP totally failed in fulfilling the promises made to the people at the time of general elections.

Mr. Ramachandra Rao said the people would teach the Chief Minister a lesson very soon.