Suspended YSR Congress Party MLA from Venkatagiri Anam Ramanarayana Reddy was placed under house arrest as he tried to lead a delegation of Telugu Desam Party leaders to Sydapuram mandal “to stop alleged illegal mining of quartz by YSRCP leaders”.
Tension prevailed at the location when the former Minister entered into heated arguments with the police, insisting that he could not be stopped from going to his home constituency of Venkatagiri. He argued that the Sydapuram police were to act only if there was any breach of the peace. He accused the policemen of following the “illegal” orders of the YSRCP leaders and said there was no space for democratic protests in the State.
The police, on the other hand, said the MLA was restrained from proceeding to Thumala Thalupur village, near Sydapuram, under IPC section 151, fearing disruption of peace.
The MLA had parted ways with the ruling YSRCP following his suspension for alleged cross-voting in the MLC elections from MLA quota, which led to the TDP bagging one MLC seat.
Meanwhile, TDP leaders, including its Polit Bureau member Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, went to the village to express solidarity with the villagers who were “troubled by the illegal mining of the minor mineral causing high levels of air pollution”.
The blasting undertaken close to human habitations had led to the development of cracks in the walls of their houses, and they also suffered from health issues, the villagers complained to the TDP leaders.
Taking strong objection to “police repression,” Mr. Ramanarayana Reddy told the reporters in Nellore that with the support of the locals, the “illegal mining” would be thwarted at any cost. “We will build a strong public opinion against the mining mafia ruling the roost in Sydapuram,” he asserted.
He alleged that YSRCP Parliamentary Party leader and Nellore Regional Coordinator V. Vijaya Sai Reddy was behind the “illegal mining” of not only quartz but also silica and sand. He was also behind the manufacture of sub-standard liquor in the State, Mr. Ramnarayana Reddy alleged.
The ruling party men were trying to export over 10,000 tonnes of quartz lying in the area illegally, taking advantage of the huge demand for the minor mineral in, among other countries, China and Japan, he said.
