Tension gripped Venkatagiri town as activists of the YSR Congress Party blocked the ‘Prateyaka Hoda Bharosa Bus Yatra’ of the Congress on Saturday.
Holding black flags, scores of YSRCP activists raised slogans against the Congress for organising the ‘yatra’ with an ulterior motive to benefit the ruling TDP by splitting the anti-establishment vote after dividing the State in an unjustified manner.
The police had a tough time in restoring order and as a result the yatra was held up for 45 minutes.
The ‘yatra’ of the Congress was only to mislead the people and it would in no way benefit the State, YSRCP leader Anam Ramnarayana Reddy contended.
Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Raghuveera Reddy, who led the ‘yatra’ said the YSRCP’s ‘disruptive’ act was due to fear of defeat in the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State.
“The downfall of YSRCP has started from Venkatagiri,” he added.
Dig at YSRCP
Alleging that the YSRCP was hand in glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Mr. Raghuveera Reddy challenged it to block the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not fulfilling his poll promise of providing Special Category Status to the State.
It was the YSRCP which had mobilised workers for the Prime Minister's Guntur meeting, he charged.
Addressing a public meeting at Gudur town, M. Raghuveera Reddy underscored the need for the Congress returning to power to grant the Special Category Status to the State, implement the State Reorganisation Act in toto and extend ₹2-lakh loan waiver to farmers and DWACRA women.
Former Union Ministers Chinta Mohan, Panabaka Lakshmi and M.M. Pallam Raju, former MP K. Bapiraju and District Congress Committee president Panabaka Krishnaiah were among those who took part in the ‘yatra’.