Roja faces Amaravati protests

Amaravati: Nagari MLA R K Roja who was here to attend a programme at the SRM University here on Thursday felt the heat of the protest of Amaravati farmers.

The protesters demanded Roja to come out of the university to hear their woes. However, the YSRCP MLA left the university from another gate in a car under police protection.

The protesters demanded talks with the MLA. They said that the abrupt departure of the MLA proved that they were right. Roja was stopped once again at Pedaparimi when she tried get back in another vehicle. The villagers of Pedaparimi obstructed her convoy in the village protesting against the comments of the MLA and demanded an apology for calling the agitating farmers 'paid artistes'.

The villagers demanded her to express solidarity with the protesters and join them in raising slogan of Jai Amaravati. A large number of women police personnel were deployed to contain the women protesters.

…blames Naidu, TDP leaders

Reacting to the protests she faced in Amaravati villages on Thursday, YSRCP Nagari MLA R K Roja alleged that the protests were orchestrated by the cronies of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Addressing a press conference at Tadepalli later, Roja said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy committed to the welfare of farmers in Amaravati region and hence increased the annuity from Rs 2,500 a month to Rs 5,000 and extended it to 15 years. She said there was no question of neglecting Amaravati as it would be the legislative capital of the state where all the laws would be framed.

"Farmers should question the TDP leaders and former ministers Prathipati Pulla Rao, P Narayana and Nara Lokesh for betraying them with false promises. In all the five years of TDP rule, Naidu showed graphics to the people and constructed temporary buildings. If the protests continue, no investor will come forward to set up an institution in Amaravati. The people should remain calm and maintain peace," she said.

She further said that Naidu left the state with a debt of about Rs 3 lakh crore. "It is evident that TDP leaders grabbed over 4,000 acre land in Amaravati alone. In the last five years, Naidu built only temporary offices with hundreds of crore and he is confined to 29 villages. Keeping all this in mind, the Chief Minister took up decentralisation to develop all 13 districts equally," she explained.