Amaravati, Nov 16 (IANS) Police stopped several leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) from visiting Hindupur in Sri Sathya Sai district, where the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) cadres allegedly attacked the YSRCP office.

Police stopped YSRCP leaders from visiting the town in view of the tension following Saturday’s clash over alleged provocative remarks by a local YSRCP leader against Hindupur MLA and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna.

As Balakrishna also visited Hindupur on Sunday, police beefed up security and stopped YSRCP leaders from visiting the town.

Balakishna, who is the brother-in-law of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, addressed a rally. Balakishna promised that he would ensure Hindupur’s rapid development.

Former MLA Kethireddi Peddareddy was stopped when he was on his way to Hindupur. YSRCP’s Ananthapur district unit president Anantha Venkatarami Reddy sat on the road to protest the alleged highhanded behaviour of police.

YSRCP leaders asked what problem Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has if they want to visit Hindupur, where the YSRCP office was attacked by ‘TDP goons’ on Saturday.

YSRCP’s Sathya Sai district president, Ushashri Charan, was also stopped by the police. She sat on the road to register her protest. She asked the police officers if the YSRCP leaders have no responsibility to reassure the YSRCP cadres.

YSRCP state general secretary Satish Reddy was also stopped from going to Hindupur to inspect the YSRCP office that was attacked on Saturday. The police detained him near Kadiri.

The opposition party alleged that police illegally arrested Kadiri constituency coordinator B.S. Makbool. Strongly condemning the attack on the Hindupur YSRCP office, Kadiri Constituency Coordinator Makbool set out for Hindupur, but midway, the police stopped him at the Lepakshi check post, illegally arrested him, and transported him to the Lepakshi police station.

The TDP cadres had reacted strongly to a statement made by Venu Gopal Reddy, husband of YSRCP Hindupur in-charge T.N. Deepika Venu Reddy. Taking a dig at Balakrishna, he had stated that the people of Hindupur have been living like slaves for the last 40 years miserably under someone sitting in Hyderabad.

The YSRCP leader had urged people to break free and elect his wife Deepika to show what real development means.

Irked over Venu Gopal Reddy’s remarks, TDP cadre and Balakrishna’s fans stormed the YSRCP office on Saturday evening, ransacking furniture, smashing glass panels, and party-related property. They also damaged a bust of late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

The YSRCP staged a protest against the attack. Deepika Venu Reddy led a protest march to the Urban Police Station, demanding criminal action against the perpetrators.

As the tension gripped the town, additional police forces from other parts of the district were deployed to prevent further clashes.

YSRCP President and former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy termed the violent attack by TDP leaders and Balakrishna’s followers on the YSRCP office in Hindupur as a direct assault on democracy itself. “We strongly condemn this barbaric act. When political parties start destroying offices, smashing furniture, breaking glass panes, and physically attacking workers, it shows a dangerous collapse of democratic norms. The absolute inaction of the police makes this even more alarming. Their silence is not negligence. It is a warning that Andhra Pradesh’s law and order machinery is being openly misused for Chandrababu Naidu’s political agenda,” he posted on X.

–IANS

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