TDP leaders, opposition cross swords

Opposition parties and the government in Andhra Pradesh (AP) traded charges for the incidents that took place at Tuni in East Godavari district on Sunday in which thousands of Kapu activists resorted to arson.

“The entire operation was funded by the YSRC party. All of a sudden, Kapu leader Mudragada calls for rasta roko and rail roko and the activists resort to violence. How can the government react to such an instantaneous decision? It clearly absolves us from the blame by YSRC leaders that we are behind the incidents,” Deputy chief minister and Home Minister Nimmalla Chinarajappa, who is a Kapu himself, said.

He said the police were investigating all leads and will initiate stern action against the culprits. Chinarajappa and almost all Kapu ministers in AP Cabinet met the chief minister at his Vijayawada camp office and discussed the repercussions of the Tuni incident.

Sources said the ministers were of the view that a dialogue with Mudragada must be initiated, while taking the investigation forward. “Any action on Mudragada will further flare up the situation. We need to initiate a carrot and stick approach to cool down the tempers,” a Kapu minister of Naidu’s cabinet observed.

Taking a serious note of the charges against YSRC, party chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said that if there was any criminal in AP it must be Naidu. “You used Kapus as a vote bank and dumped them after coming to power,” said Jagan.