Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs and leaders with their mouths tied with black ribbons sat on a silent protest at the Gandhi statue near GVMC here on Thursday, condemning the arrest of former Chief Minister and national president N. Chandrababu Naidu, and others on Wednesday night.
Right to oppose government decisions
Denouncing the arrests, Visakhapatnam West MLA P.G.V.R Naidu said there was no reason why they should be prevented from staging a peaceful protest. “In a democracy, the Opposition parties have the right to oppose the decisions of the government. Moreover, development of the State has come to a standstill in the last seven months,” he alleged.
“During his tenure as Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu had conducted partnerships and many investors had evinced keen interest to invest in the State. Now, they were all shying away due to the prevailing uncertainty in the State,” he added.
‘Nation is laughing at A.P.’
Former MLA Peela Govind Satyanarayana said farmers had given 33,000 acres of land in Amaravati on the call of Mr. Naidu. “Now the nation is laughing at Andhra Pradesh. However, Visakhapatnam should not be deprived of development,” he said.
The party leaders quipped that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s rule was akin to the ‘Tughlaq’ rule.
Visakhapatnam East MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu was also present.
