TDP president’s Warangal tour turns chaotic
Telangana activists attack Chandrababu Naidu’s convoy, throw stones
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu’s convoy to the Warangal district was attacked by stone-pelting and black flag demonstrations by Telangana activists led by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) who held him responsible for the delay in separate statehood for Telangana.
The attack began at Osmania university with the students pelting the convoy with stones, which forced the convoy to pass under the cover of tear gas. Though warned of the tense situation in the Palakruti assembly segment of Warangal in view of the overnight arrest of several TRS top leaders, Naidu refused to cancel his padayatra.
The TDP chief’s padayatra through all districts is being done to establish solidarity with farmers and shrug off his ‘computer-boy’ and anti-farmer image which had cost him the 2004 elections.
The stone pelting continued at Rayagiri in the Bhuvangiri mandal of Nalgonda as well as at Peddakandukuru. At Pembarti, unknown people torched tyres on railway tracks and attempted to remove the fishplates of railway tracks.
Window panes of a car in the convoy were damaged. Tomatoes, slippers and eggs replaced the stones in the some districts. A few people also tried to torch a TDP leader’s residence.
Despite all obstacles the first half of the padayatra was finished at Chennur covering 5 kms of his day’s schedule in two hours, including his interactions with the farmers. Naidu told TV channels that the TRS and YSRC who had supported TDP’s no confidence motion in the assembly on farmers’ issues had now turned tail when he tried to study the issue at the ground level. He advocated that they should all be working together.
CPI leader K Narayana also condemned the attack and said that no one should try to stall the democratic process and rights of anyone going to the people.
Naidu’s Facebook page also sported a new support Telangana look with many slogans on his wall.
The police had booked over 2,000 Telangana activists into preventive custody in anticipation of trouble.
Telangana advocates had approached the Warangal district court alleging that the activists had been illegally detained. More than 3,0000 policemen had been deployed to prevent untoward incidents all along the 150 kms route to Warangal.
Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising the TRS and other Telangana groups, has called for a shutdown in the Warangal district to protest Naidu's visit.
They want the TDP chief to first make his stand clear on separate statehood to Telangana before visiting the district.
The shutdown call has evoked total response in the district with shops and business establishments closed.
Educational institutions also declared a holiday while most of the buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation remained off the roads, fearing violence.
