‘Jagan has murdered democracy’: TDP on AP govt order barring public meetings on roads

A day after the Andhra Pradesh government issued an order prohibiting public meetings and rallies on roads, the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) slammed the decision, calling it undemocratic. The government order (GO) was issued in the wake of two deadly stampedes in a period of five days in events related to TDP, in which eleven persons were  killed. On Tuesday, January 3, TDP MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary addressed the media and said that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had become a murderer of democracy by passing the order. He further said that the TDP would contest the order in court. TDP workers in some parts of the state set fire to copies of the GO in protest.

“Jagan will not be able to control people’s rage with outdated British laws and GOs,” the TDP MLA said. Terming the order as ‘undemocratic’, the legislator alleged that CM Jagan had passed it to suppress the voice of the opposition. He also called the 1861 Police Act cited by the order an outdated law from the colonial era. He said, “They are doing this to cover up the unpopular opinion against his [Jagan’s] government and the growing resentment against him.” The MLA further alleged that CM Jagan was resentful of the support that TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu had been receiving from the people. He also said that the YSRCP government must stop politicising the stampede incidents and order a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe to investigate them.

The order cited the incident which occurred in Kandukuru earlier on December 28, in which eight people died. The stampede happened at a TDP rally organised as part of the party’s ongoing ‘Idhem Kharma’ campaign to call attention to the alleged misrule of the YSR Congress Party. In the aftermath of the stampedes, the YSRCP government has blamed the TDP for allegedly managing the events poorly, while TDP has accused  the government of failing to provide enough security.

Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary alleged that there were suspicions of a YSRCP conspiracy behind the two stampede incidents. He also questioned whether the new rules will apply to Jagan and his ministers as well. He also said, “Jagan has challenged the fundamental rights of a person like the right to protest, right to expression, right to hold assemblies, meetings and rallies. We will fight this in the public and the courts and settle it with the Chief Minister.” The order has come weeks ahead of the launch of a padayatra by TDP MLC and Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh.

Meanwhile, the Chittoor police have denied Chandrababu Naidu permission to hold roadshows and public meetings during his three-day visit to his home constituency Kuppam beginning on Wednesday, January 4. According to The New Indian Express, the organiser of the events received a notice from the police asking him to abide by the rules of the new order. Policemen were deployed in large numbers at Santhipuram in Kuppam constituency where Naidu was scheduled to address a road show. Police have reportedly shifted the TDP campaign vehicle and another vehicle carrying the sound system to the police station.