Chaos prevailed at Rachabanda programme organised at Ajithsingh Nagar (55 division) in the city with activists of different Opposition parties trying to highlight different public issues to the notice of officials and elected representatives. The police took into custody CPI (M), CPI and YSR Congress activists who tried to force their way into the Shadikhana where the programme was being organised on Tuesday. The police sent them to different police stations in the city and released them later.
Waving placards
The activists and leaders descended on the venue in spells and tried to barge in. They brought replicas of cooking gas cylinders and essential commodities to highlight the skyrocketing prices and their impact on the common man.
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Waving placards with slogans on Racchabanda and other issues like Budameru floods and rising prices of essential commodities they demanded the government to address the problems of the people at the earliest.
CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao said that former corporators belonging to the Congress party were sharing the dais with the MLAs and officials. It was a clear case of partisan approach of the officials and police, he alleged.
CPI city secretary Donepudi Sankar said that the police violated the freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. They did not allow the opposition parties and people to make representations at the Rachabanda, he alleged.
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Meanwhile, Vijayawada (Central) MLA Malladi Vishnu distributed interest free loans to the tune of Rs. 1.02 crore to 662 groups. On the occasion, he said that the interest would be deposited in the accounts of group members if they repaid the loan in time. While 226 people received old age, widow and physically handicapped pensions, 225 people received gas connections under Deepam scheme in 56th division. Likewise, 197 people received old age, widow and physically handicapped pensions and 130 people received Deepam cooking gas connections in 55th division, he said.