Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham and his followers staged a novel protest on Saturday against denial of permission to launch ‘chalo Amaravati’ padayatra.
As usual, Mr. Padmanabham, accompanied by JAC leaders Akula Ramakrishna, Vasireddy Yesudas and Nalla Vishnu, came out of his residence at 9.30 a.m. and tried to walk out of the main gate.
But the police stopped and told them until and unless they received directions from the government, they would not allow them to take out the padayatra.
Mr. Padmanabham and his followers then took out flowers from their pockets and put them in their ears. “The government is citing Supreme Court guidelines to stall the yatra. But when I sought a copy of the guidelines, the government is unwilling to provide the same,” he told the police, and made it clear that he would not obtain a stay or bail on the notices served on him by the police. The Kapu leader had been under house arrest from August 3. The police clamped Section 30 and Section 144 to maintain law and order in East Godavari district.
Rally in Jaggampeta
Meanwhile, Kapu youth in Jaggampeta took out a rally and enforced bandh in support of the demand for inclusion of the community in the list of BCs. In Amalapuram, members of the community assembled at the Clock Tower and staged a dharna. They said a candle-light rally would be taken out in the night every day in support of the movement.
