The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Lok Satta Party’s protest disrupts traffic

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Monday, Jul 06, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Lok Satta Party’s protest disrupts traffic

Activists stage dharna against Telugu Desam chief’s remarks against the party

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

FREE FOR ALL: The road in front of the TDP headquarters in Hyderabad on Sunday virtually became a battleground for more than an hour with enraged party workers of both the Lok Satta Party (left) and the TDP (right) throwing footwear at each other and raising slogans.

HYDERABAD: Traffic in front of the Telugu Desam Party headquarters was disrupted for more than an hour on Sunday when several Lok Satta activists staged a dharna protesting TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s remarks against the LSP.

Raising anti-Naidu slogans, they challenged the TDP leader either to take part in a public debate or tender an apology. In a bid to counter the Lok Satta protest, several TDP activists gathered at the spot and raised slogans against the Lok Satta.

Hurl slippers

As the atmosphere became surcharged and the groups surged forward, police prevented any untoward incident. At one stage, activists from rival parties hurled slippers at each other. The situation subsided after the Lok Satta activists left.

Addressing a meeting of party workers on Saturday, Mr. Naidu accused the Lok Satta Party of working hand in glove with the Congress, as indicated by avoiding candidates against Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and his son Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and piling up huge deposits.

Meanwhile, the Congress said that Mr. Naidu’s tirade against Lok Satta Party chief N. Jayaprakash Narayan only exposed his frustration at losing people’s confidence in the recent elections.

Government Chief Whip Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka in a statement said Mr. Naidu’s statement showed that he was perturbed over the fate of his party. There was a contradiction in the allegation as the LSP would have contested all the Assembly seats if it had nexus with the Congress.

The Lok Satta contested only 246 seats, he said.

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