The bandh called by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in protest against the attack on its offices in Visakhapatnam and elsewhere in the State allegedly by the YSR Congress (YSRC) workers had little impact in the city as well as in the district as the TDP leaders were either placed under house arrest or arrested on Wednesday.
The YSRC workers reportedly attacked the TDP offices at various places in the State on Tuesday after a TDP leader made derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The call for the bandh was given by the TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu in protest against the attacks. The preventive detention and arrests of TDP leaders and party workers ensured that normal life in the city was not affected.
RTC buses, school buses, auto rickshaws and private vehicles plied as usual on the roads.
A few TDP activists who squatted on the main road at Jagadamba Junction were arrested.
TDP Parliamentary constituency president Palla Srinivas, said: “we were preparing to participate in the bandh, when the police arrested us. The Opposition has the right to protest in a peaceful manner. The bandh is for upholding democracy and I appeal to the people to support us.”
According to him, police arrested many leaders in the wee hours of Wednesday between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. or deployed a large number of policemen at their houses right from midnight to see that they did not come out.
All the 31 corporators of the TDP have either been arrested or kept in preventive custody or under house arrest. State leaders such as Pranav Gopal and Areti Mahesh were also arrested, said Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
He deplored the dictatorial attitude of the YSRC government and the ‘abusive’ language used by Anakapalli MLA Gudivada Amarnath against the former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
TDP State president K. Atchannaidu, who is currently in the city, was placed under house arrest.
TDP leader Pasarla Prasad was arrested at his home and taken to the Gopalapatnam police station. Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy and others were put under house arrest in the district.
