High drama at police station as YSRCP MLA stages dharna

He and seven others were charged with violating social distancing norm

YSRCP activists led by Kovur MLA N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy staging a protest in front of the Buchireddipalem police station in Nellore district on Saturday.

YSR Congress Party MLA from Kovur N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy staged a demonstration in front of the police station at Buchireddipalem on Saturday as the police booked a case against him and seven others.

They were charged with violating the social distancing norm laid down to check the spread of COVID-19 during distribution of essential commodities to the poor in his constituency on Friday.

Peeved at the criminal action initiated by the police, the ruling party MLA threatened to quit politics if any punitive action was taken against his followers or the police personnel at the grass-roots level.

The police booked a case under IPC Sections 188, 269 and 270 for alleged violation of the lockdown in force and also initiated disciplinary action against police personnel concerned.

Giving a go-by to social distancing, the ruling party had mobilised a large number of people for the distribution of rice and other essential commodities.

“The YSRCP men in my constituency have only responded to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s call to come to the aid of the poor in this hour of crisis,” the upset MLA said.

He and his supporters lifted the over three-hour siege to the police station after senior officials intervened.

‘Rythu Kanuka’

Meanwhile, senior YSRCP leader and TTD Board Chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy, along with MP V. Prabhakar Reddy and Irrigation Minister P. Anil Kumar, inaugurated the ‘Rythu Kanuka’ launched by party MLA from Sarvepalli Kakani Govardhan Reddy to distribute rice and other essential commodities to one-lakh poor families in the constituency in view of lockdown.

Inspired by a spiritual leader, Golagamudi Venkayya, the farmers had donated two to five bags of rice each for the initiative of the MLA.

In Ongole, YSRCP activists led by its BC wing’s district president Katari Shankar distributed essential commodities to the poor to mark Mahatma Jyotirao Phule’s birth anniversary.

Meanwhile, the number of infected persons rose to 41 in Prakasam district with one more person testing positive on Saturday. One person had so far been discharged after recovery. Collector P. Bhaskar led the containment action plan in Markapur and K.K.Mitla clusters, where one person each had contracted coronavirus. In Nellore, the number of infected persons remained unchanged at 48.