N Chandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, his son and former IT minister, N Lokesh, Vijayawada Member of Parliament, Kesineni Nani, and several other Telugu Desam leaders in Krishna, Prakasam, Guntur, and other districts were kept under house arrest as a preventive measure on Wednesday morning.

The measure was taken to prevent them from going to Atmakuru in the Palanadu region of Guntur district, in response to a call given by the Telugu Desam Party for "Chalo Atmakuru".

The call was given by the party to take the TDP workers and sympathisers back to their villages in the region. The party allegedes that its workers were driven out of their villages by leaders and cadres of the ruling YSR Congress Party in the past few months. The YSR Congress came to power in the state with a landslide victory earlier this year.

The TDP set up a rehabilitation camp at Guntur for such TDP workers and sympathisers ten days ago, and has been requesting the Government to create favourable conditions for their safe return.

Alleging inaction by the state government, the party gave the call for "Chalo Atmakuru" on Wednesday morning. There was heavy police deployment at the former Chief Minister's rented house, as he was scheduled to leave his house at around 11 AM for Atmakuru.

The police are preventing him from moving out. The former CM said that "it was a dark day for democracy" and he, or his party, would not be cowed down by such repressive tactics of the Government.

Several TDP leaders were also taken into preventive detention in Guntur district and other districts as well.