VIJAYAWADA: Tension prevailed at Benz Circle in the city when police took opposition leader and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, party’s national general secretary Nara Lokesh and other TDP and JAC leaders into preventive custody to prevent them from taking out a rally to Autonagar on Wednesday night against the move to shift the State capital from Amaravati.
It all started with the police stopping the five buses which the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi planned to flag off as part of its State-wide yatra to mobilise people’s support against the YSRC government’s three-Capital proposal.
Citing that the bus yatra did not have permission from the RTA and police, cops stopped the vehicles at Autonagar.
At the same time, Naidu and other political and JAC leaders inaugurated the new JAC office at Benz Circle and were waiting for the buses to come there to flag off the yatra.
Having learnt that the buses were stopped, Naidu and others decided to take out a padayatra to Autonagar denouncing the prevention of yatra by the government.
The police stopped them outside the JAC office prompting Naidu and others to stage a sit-in on the main road leading to massive traffic jam.
More number of TDP activists reached the place within no time.
Demanding that the police permit the bus yatra, Naidu said, “You cannot suppress the people’s movement. We are protesting peacefully.”
Naidu asked the police under what law they were preventing the yatra. Police officials tried to convince Naidu and other TDP leaders to leave the place. When they did not budge, they were bundled into a police vehicle.
When the police tried to shift Naidu and others from the place, the keys of the vehicle were not found and the vehicle was stranded at the same place for nearly half-an-hour. The police shifted the leaders to Naidu’s residence and later released them.
Stating that he will not have any objection on shifting of capital from Amaravati if the proposal is accepted by the five crore people of the State, Naidu challenged the government to go for a referendum on the issue. Otherwise, Jagan should call fresh elections on the capital shifting proposal, he demanded.
‘Referendum’ TDP chief
N Chandrababu Naidu says Jagan Mohan Reddy’s govt should go for a referendum regarding shifting of the Capital.