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Konaseema Sadhana Samiti is protesting against the renaming of Konaseema district. When the police tried to disperse the workers of the committee, stone pelting started. Then shops in the town closed, the protesters reportedly created a ruckus and set the school bus on fire.
Andhra Pradesh (Andhra PradeshThere is a lot of displeasure among the people about changing the name of the district and their displeasure is such that they burnt the house of the minister and the MLA. The newly formed district Konaseema of the state has been renamed as BR Ambedkar Konaseema (Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Konaseema) Against the proposal to district, arson started in Amalapuram town on Tuesday when the police lathi-charged the people protesting against the proposal. Angry people also set fire to the minister’s house.
Several policemen were also injured during the lathi charge by the police and those protesting against the name change proposal torched the houses of state minister P Vishwaroopu and ruling YSR Congress MLA P Satish. While the ruling party blamed unidentified forces for the arson, all opposition parties accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy government of “gross failure” to control the situation.
20 people injured in violence
The opposition parties appealed to the people to exercise restraint and ensure peace in Konaseema. State Home Minister T Vanitha said around 20 policemen were injured in stone pelting by the mob while a school bus was torched by the protesters. Prohibitory orders under section 144 have been imposed in Amalapuram. At the same time, additional police forces have been sent to bring the situation under control.
Eluru Range Deputy Inspector General of Police G Pala Raju, who reached Amalapuram, said that the police is trying to bring the situation under control. He said the injured policemen were “out of danger”.
The situation went out of control when the police allegedly prevented the leaders of Konaseema Sadhana Samiti from going to the district collector’s office and resorted to lathi-charge. These leaders were on their way to submit a memorandum against the renaming of the district.
Protest against changing the name of the district
The committee is opposing the proposal to rename the newly created Konaseema district to BR Ambedkar Konaseema district. As soon as the police tried to disperse the leaders and workers of the committee, stone pelting started. Following this, shops in the town started shutting down, while the protesters reportedly created a ruckus and set a school bus on fire.
Later they went to Transport Minister Vishwaroopu’s house and set it on fire. However, sensing the danger, the police had taken out the family members of the ministers safely by then. Later, the protesters targeted the residence of Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Sathish and set it on fire. Satish said, “It was very frightening when a mob of 1,000-1,500 people came and burnt our house. They were carrying petrol in bottles, which clearly indicates that they did all this intentionally.” However, he and his family were evacuated safely.
State Home Minister Vanitha told reporters at the Secretariat here that some parties and anti-social elements clearly instigated the arson. He said, “It is unfortunate that more than 20 policemen have been injured in the incident. We will thoroughly investigate the incident and take action against the culprits.”
Opposition surrounded the government over violence
Major opposition parties Telugu Desam Party, BJP, Jana Sena and Congress lashed out at the government’s blatant failure to control the Amalapuram situation. Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu said, “It is unfortunate that the arson in Konaseema is known for peace. The Home Minister made baseless allegations on a delicate issue. This is a complete failure of the government and the police.”
Jana Sena chief K Pawan Kalyan hit out at the Home Minister for blaming the opposition parties for the Amalapuram incidents. State BJP president Somu Veeraraju strongly condemned the incidents and accused the government of failing to ensure peace. “The government should take responsibility for its failure to maintain peace in Konaseema,” he said. State Congress President S. Shailjanath also held the government responsible for the entire incident.
Konaseema district was carved out of the erstwhile East Godavari district on April 4 last month. Last week, the state government had invited objections from people by issuing a preliminary notification to rename Konaseema district to BR Ambedkar Konaseema district. Minister Vishwaroopu said that the proposal to rename the new district was based on the demand raised by all political parties.
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