Naidu denied permission for Kuppam meet

Amaravati: Tension prevailed in Kuppam town of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday as police denied permission for a roadshow by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N Chandrababu Naidu.

TDP workers were stopped and sent back by the police as they were heading to Santhipuram in Kuppam, the home constituency of the former chief minister in Chittoor district. The police also shifted the campaign vehicle (Prachara Radham) and the other vehicle carrying the sound system to the police station.

Hundreds of policemen were deployed as curbs were imposed on Naidu's visit. This came a day after the State government issued an order prohibiting public meetings on roads. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government took the step in the wake of December 28 stampede at Kandukur during Naidu's roadshow which had claimed eight lives.

The government has come under flak from the entire opposition for banning the public meetings and they called it an attempt to stifle the voice of dissent.

Naidu, who is the leader of opposition, decided to go ahead with his visit to Kuppam. Police stopped TDP workers who were heading to Pedduru village on Andhra-Karnataka border to welcome the party leader. This led to an argument between both sides. Police erected barricades to stop TDP workers from proceeding towards the village and also to the road show.

Though the TDP supremo is likely to reach Pedduru village from Bengaluru in another couple of hours, heavy deployment of police has been made in all the villages to which he is scheduled to visit. The police also removed the stage set up at Kenamakulapalli village for Chandrababu Naidu to address the gathering as part of the Rachabanda programme.