Five persons were injured and a couple of cars were damaged in a clash between workers of the ruling YSR Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party at Angallu village of Kurabalakota mandal of Tamballapalle Assembly constituency, 130 km from here, on Friday.
The police rushed to the spot with heavy forces and took both sides into preventive custody, and cleared the traffic on the busy Kadiri road.
According to information, former MLAs Dommalapati Ramesh (Madanapalle) and Shankar Yadav (Tamballapalle) and TDP Piler in-charge Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy and their followers were on their way to Angallu and B. Kothakota mandal headquarters to call on the families of party workers, who had died in recent months due to various reasons.
When the TDP leaders arrived at Angallu, about 100 YSRCP workers squatted on the road and raised slogans demanding that they go back. The TDP cadres accompanying the leaders in about a dozen vehicles resorted to counter-protest, insisting that they be allowed to proceed with their schedule. This led to a clash between the groups, in which five persons were injured and some cars damaged.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Madanapalle) A. Ravi Manohar Achari told The Hindu that the police rushed to the spot after both sides staged protests and counter-protests, blocking the Madanapalle-Kadiri road. “In order to prevent law and order problem, we took both sides into preventive custody and shifted them to area police stations under Madanapalle rural, and were later let them off on bail,” he said.
Condemning their arrest, the TDP leaders alleged that the YSRCP was following vindictive politics, targeting the Opposition party cadres with “unlawful arrests and intimidation” by manipulating the police.
Mr. Kishore Kumar Reddy said the matter would be taken to the notice of the TDP high command and that agitations would be intensified all over the State to expose “criminal politics” of the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Naidu condemns attack
TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu condemned the attack and demanded stringent action against those responsible.
Party leader R. Madhu Babu suffered a serious head injury. The attackers also targeted a journalist and snatched his mobile phone and camera, Mr. Naidu said.
The TDP leaders were on their way to console the family members of the deceased party activist at B. Kothakota.
Demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack, Mr. Naidu said there was “total breakdown of law and order under the YSRCP rule.”
He said the ruling party leaders and cadres, with the tacit support of those at the helm, had been attacking innocent persons as they knew that they could get away with such acts.
“There is no rule of law in the State as the Police Department is completely under the control of the YSRCP,” Mr. Naidu alleged.
TDP State president K. Atchannaidu, in a separate statement, demanded the arrest of the attackers within 24 hours.
