Amaravati
Police on Thursday placed leaders of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) under house arrest to prevent their ‘Chalo Macherla’ protest against alleged violence by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) during recent polling and subsequent days.
The TDP had called for the protest to meet victims of the alleged violence orchestrated by Macherla MLA Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy of the YSRCP. However, police denied permission for the protest and took measures to confine TDP leaders to their homes.
Palnadu district Superintendent of Police Mallika Garg confirmed that the ‘Chalo Macherla’ programme was not authorized. Early in the morning, police personnel visited the homes of key TDP leaders to prevent them from traveling to Macherla.
Among those placed under house arrest were TDP leaders Nakka Anand Babu and K. Srinivasa Rao in Guntur. Former minister Devineni Uma was restricted from leaving his house in Gollapudi, and TDP politburo member Varla Ramaiah was similarly confined in Vijayawada.
TDP candidate from the Macherla Assembly constituency, Julakanti Brahmananda Reddy, has been under house arrest since the polling on May 13, which saw several incidents of violence. On polling day, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were damaged at seven locations.
YSRCP’s Ramakrishna Reddy, seeking re-election for a fifth consecutive term, was caught on video damaging an EVM at one of the polling booths. Following the viral video, police booked a case and launched a search for him after the Election Commission of India ordered his immediate arrest.
