YSRCP chief Jagan condemns Posani's arrest, assures support to actor's wife

Amaravati: YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday condemned the arrest of popular Telugu actor, writer and director Posani Krishna Murali (66) and assured all support to his wife Kusuma Latha in a phone call.

Posani, as he is popularly known, was arrested in Hyderabad on Wednesday night by Annamayya district police from Andhra Pradesh under various sections of BNSS and BNS.

As per record of the phone call posted on YSRCP's 'X' account, Jagan Mohan Reddy told Kusuma Latha, "All of us are with you. I told Sudhakar Reddy and all of them. Don't be disheartened. We are all there. God is also watching. This atrocious rule (NDA govt) wont' last. Be bold, we are all there. I called up to tell these words." Further, the former chief minister promised to extend legal help to Posani on behalf of YSRCP and noted that the matter has already been entrusted to senior lawyers belonging to the party.

Earlier, YSRCP leaders Seediri Appalaraju, Kurasala Kannababu, Ambati Rambabu, and Merugu Nagarjuna, Kakani Govardhan and YSRCP general secretary G Srikant Reddy criticized the arrest of the actor.

They called it an assault on democracy, despite Posani's withdrawal from politics and his ill health, and added that it is a 'deplorable act of vindictive politics' by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

According to the opposition leaders, the TDP-led NDA government is using 'police to silence dissent, undermine the rule of law and push the state into a chaos'.

Warning that such alleged undemocratic actions will face public backlash, the YSRCP leaders urge police not to become "tools in political vendetta".

Meanwhile, Posani's wife Kusuma Latha pointed out that the arrest notice served to her husband marked the arrest date as Thursday, February 27 but he was actually picked up by police on Wednesday, February 26.

Police picked up Posani from his residence near New Science Colony, Yellareddyguda, Hyderabad at 8:45 pm to shift him to Andhra Pradesh.

"Though I told the police that he (Posani) will come with them after an MRI test tomorrow (Thursday) as he is not keeping well and under medication, they disregarded our pleas and insisted that he should be taken away now itself," Kusuma Latha told a Telugu news channel, adding that Police did not give time for Posani to take all his medicines.

Alleging that police did not cite the reason for Posani's arrest, she said they also took away her phone and her husband's phone while their son resisted an attempt to snatch his phone.

Posani's arrest comes shortly after the arrest of former Gannavaram MLA and YSRCP leader Vallabhaneni Vamsi and others.

Krishna Murali was associated with the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP and had also served as the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Film, TV, and Theatre Development Corporation (APFTTDC) during the previous YSRCP regime.