TDP counters BJP allegations

Tirupati: The TDP Alipiri protest against BJP national president Amit Shah here on Friday boomeranged, forcing the ruling party taking up damage control to counter the saffron party portraying the incident as an affront on a pilgrim visiting Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, drawing countrywide attention with national media highlighted the bid to block Amit Shah convoy.

The police, who were taken aback on the sudden turn of the Alipiri protest hitting the lime light with the BJP squarely blaming them for the incident and terming it a major security lapse. The saffron party demanded Home Minister China Rajappa to probe into the incident. The police detained three persons including Telugu Nadu Students Federation (TNSF) leaders Anand Goud and Ravi Naidu and a party worker Subramanya Yadav, later in the evening on Friday.

While two were let off on Saturday after local MLA M Suguna staged a protest along with party activists before Alipiri police station in the early hours on Saturday seeking their release, the third one Subramanya Yadav was released on bail after he was arrested and produced in the court, embarrassing the police, who were sandwiched between the ruling party and the BJP hell bent on exploiting the incident to the hilt to project Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a bad light.

MLA Suguna, party city president Dampuri Bhaskar Yadav and others speaking on the occasion defended the protest as their democratic right and stoutly denied any attack on Shah convoy and claimed that it was the BJP leaders, who assaulted the party workers peacefully protesting and provoked them.

Bhaskar, who led the protest at Alipiri, was also highly critical of YSRCP, CPM, CPI and others for remaining silent during Amit Shah’s visit to Tirumala, leaving TDP become the scapegoat for genuinely fighting for the cause of Special Category Status (SCS).

“These parties all these days were vociferous on SCS but when Shah, the national president of the BJP, who betrayed Andhra Pradesh, was here did nothing to express resentment,” he lamented. Interestingly, the city TDP activists, who were involved in Alipiri protest, working overtime to counter the adverse media reports, baffled at the incident blown out of proportion, by posting series of videos, images through social media to convince that no attack on Amit Shah car and it was BJP local leaders provoking caused the fracas, immediately after Shah car had left.

Meanwhile, BJP activists-led by party district president B Chandra Reddy staged a dharna at Nalugukallamandapam Circle here on Saturday, demanding a public apology from Chandrababu Naidu for his party activists attack on Amit Shah Convoy and a probe on the incident. Party state spokesperson and former TTD trust board member G Bhanuprakash Reddy and district general secretary Samanchi Srinivas said his party would continue the fight till the government take action on those responsible for the Alipiri incident.

A high-level probe is required to unravel the conspiracy behind the attack on Amit Shah convoy, including, who were behind for organising the protest and bringing the workers to the high security zone where political activities including holding banners, placards, raising slogans, wearing black badges etc. were totally banned and how the police allowed TDP leaders and activists in Alipiri to line up on the ghat road, they asked.

BY G Sridhar