Naidu protests power tariff hike, arrested

 Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu was arrested on Tuesday for leading a massive rally against  the Government’s proposed hike in power tariff and erratic power cuts imposed on all sectors, particularly the farming sector.

Naidu led a padayatra from TDP headquarters in Banjara Hills to Vidyut Soudha, headquarters of the State Electricity Department.

There was tension as the police and TDP workers pushed each other. Police took Chandrababu Naidu and several of his party leaders, including Yerrabelli Dayakar Rao, Kinjarapu Yerranaidu and Mandava Venkateswar Rao, into custody and shifted them to Banjara Hills police station.

However, Telangana Electricity Department Employees Joint Action Committee, in a counter protest, raised slogans against Naidu. Speaking to the media after his release, Naidu alleged that the government had gone back on its promise to supply nine hours of free and uninterrupted power to farmers.

Naidu flayed the Congress government for  not adding to the generation capacity in the last eight years of its rule. Stating that the government alone owed Rs 20,000 crore to the power companies, Naidu said the power system was in a shambles in the state.