Police reportedly took Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan and party PAC Chairman Nadendla Manohar into preventive custody on Saturday night when they staged a protest by lying on the National Highway (NH) on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border.
When the police denied permission to him to enter the Andhra Pradesh, the JSP president staged a protest around midnight on Saturday on the State borders, near Jaggaiahpeta.
Mr. Pawan was on his way to Vijayawada from Hyderabad and as he was denied the permission to enter the State, he staged a protest against the police action on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada NH at the Garikapadu check-post. Tension prevailed on the NH when many party activists thronged the State borders. Traffic came to a standstill for about three hours.
Mr. Pawan came in a convoy from Telangana reportedly to attend a party meeting on Sunday.
However, the NTR District Commissionerate Police, who deployed additional forces on the State borders, stopped the convoy, in view of the volatile law and order situation after the arrest of TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr. Pawan and other party leaders had an argument with the police officers at the Garikapadu check-post. Earlier, the Krishna district police asked the Gannavaram Airport authorities to deny permission for landing of his flight.
“Anticipating trouble, we denied permission for Mr. Pawan Kalyan into the State. The situation is under control on the State borders,” said a police officer.
‘Political vengeance’
Earlier, Mr. Pawan termed the arrest of Mr. Naidu an act of political vengeance.
He condemned the arrest and took objection to detention of TDP leaders and activists whose right it was to protest against the treatment being meted to Mr. Naidu.
The government was clearly encouraging actions that jeopardised law and order and instead of hauling up the actual culprits, it was targeting the opposition parties, he alleged.-
“It is unfortunate that those who allegedly committed major offences and even spent quite a long time in jail were freely touring abroad while the democratic rights of leaders of the opposition parties and people in the State were being deprived,” he said.
Mr. Pawan said the police had cracked down on his party during his Jana Vani programme in Visakhapatnam last year and stooped to the extent of registering attempt-to-murder cases on innocent leaders.
“I extend my full support to Mr. Naidu and wish that he comes out of the situation soon”, the JSP chief stated in a video message.
