CPI(M) leaders and activists were arrested at the Kosta junction in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Sunday when they tried to launch a padayatra to register their protest against the proposed atomic power plant in Kovvada village.
CPI(M) Secretariat member Ch. Narasinga Rao and district president Bhaviri Krishna Murthy and CITU general secretary D. Govinda Rao were among other leaders who gathered at the junction to proceed towards Kovvada. The police said they would not be allowed to meet the villagers as meetings and programmes were banned under Section 30. The CPI(M) questioned why the police allowed the TDP leaders to take out the Jana Chaitanya Yatra, and alleged that they were selectively enforcing rules.
Tension prevailed as the activists tried to prevent the police from taking the leaders into custody. They raised slogans against the Union government, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and the district administration for trying to go ahead with the project without taking the people into confidence.
Mr. Govinda Rao alleged that the police were crossing their limits to thwart the party’s peaceful awareness programmes such as padayatra and distribution of pamphlets.
Later, all the leaders, including Ch. Ammananidu and P. Tejeswara Rao, were sent to the Ranasthalam Police Station. They were released in the evening.
