Hindupur MLA and senior TDP leader Nandamuri Balakrishna on September 30 (Saturday) said his party would extend its full support to Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan’s Varahi Yatra scheduled to commence in the Machilipatnam parliamentary constituency from October 4.
‘False cases’
Addressing the media along with TDP State president K. Atchannaidu after a meeting of the party’s Political Action Committee at RK Function Hall here, Mr. Balakrishna said, “The TDP, with a history of four decades and fighting spirit, will not be cowed by the false cases being foisted against its leaders, and will effectively counter the vengeful acts of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh.”
“If there is no fault on our part, there is no need to fear even God. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has neglected pressing public issues and is stifling the voice of the opposition parties. Though there is no evidence of wrongdoing in the alleged skill development scam case, our national president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been arrested due to political vengeance,” Mr. Balakrishna said.
Mr. Atchannaidu said that Mr. Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari would sit on a day’s hunger strike in Rajamahendravaram on October 2 coinciding with Gandhi Jayanthi, to protest against the “illegal arrest of the TDP chief.”
Mr. Atchannaidu appealed to the people to express their solidarity with Ms. Bhuvaneswari by switching the lights off in their houses and lighting candles between 7 p.m. and 7.05 p.m. on October 2.
He further claimed that 97 persons had died of shock ever since the arrest of Mr. Naidu on September 9. “We have mourned the deaths by observing silence for a couple of minutes before the commencement of the meeting. A plan of action will be chalked out to call on the families of those who died and extend the party’s support to them,” Mr. Atchannaidu said.
‘TDP-JSP panel soon’
He further said that a joint action committee of the TDP and JSP would be constituted soon to take the fight against the YSRCP to the field level.
Senior TDP leaders Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Nakka Ananda Babu, P. Ashok Babu, B. Ravichandra, N. Rama Naidu, and V. Anitha were among others present.
Considering the heightened political activity, the police were present in large numbers at arterial junctions to prevent any untoward incidents.
The TDP’s meeting at R.K. Function Hall assumed significance as it was here that Mr. Naidu had been arrested at the strike of dawn by the CID personnel after deploying heavy police force and cordoning off his caravan.
