With no information available about the three Telugu Desam party men kidnapped by the CPI (Maoist) cadres exactly one week ago in G.K. Veedhi mandal and government not coming out with any statement, a former minister quit her party post on Sunday and families of the kidnapped persons are on their way to the city to meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday.
After kidnapping the three, TDP mandal unit president Mamidi Balayya Padal, senior leader Vandalam Balayya and district committee president Mukkala Mahesh from Kothaguda, the banned CPI (Maoist) demanded the State Government to drop forthwith its plans to exploit bauxite mining in the Agency area and wanted the TD leaders and cadres to quit the party and join the Girijans' struggle against bauxite mining.
Former Minister M. Manikumari, whose husband was shot dead by Maoists several years ago, in a statement issued in Paderu, said she was resigning from the three-member committee the party has set up for Paderu Assembly segment, upset over the government not coming out with a statement on bauxite mining even after three Girijans were abducted by the Maoists. Families of Mr. Balayya Padal, Mr. Balayya and Mr. Mahesh who are in a state of tension for the last one week have started from G.K. Veedhi to Visakhapatnam to plead with Mr. Naidu to get the three released.
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Meanwhile the three kidnapped persons have been reportedly shifted to different places. Vandalam Balayya and Balayya Padal were taken to the Odisha border and Mahesh to East Godavari Agency area. The two are with senior leader and party's Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee spokesman Chalapathi and Mahesh with another leader Azad. Mahesh is reportedly not well.