Arson broke out in Amalapuram town in Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh and the homes of Andhra Minister P Viswarupu and YSRCP MLA P Satish were set on fire on Tuesday, May 24 by protesters opposing the proposed renaming of the newly-created Konaseema district to Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district. Dozens of people, including policemen, were injured as they had to resort to lathicharge to control the protests.
Last week, the state government issued a preliminary notification seeking to rename Konaseema — the new district carved out of the erstwhile East Godavari — as BR Ambedkar Konaseema district. The government had invited objections, if any, from the people. Transport Minister Viswarupu said the proposal to rename the new district was based on the demand raised by all political parties.
Against this backdrop, the Konaseema Sadhana Samiti objected to the proposed renaming of the district and wanted the name Konaseema retained. The Samiti organised a protest on Tuesday, May 24, and sought to submit a memorandum to the district Collector Himanshu Shukla against the renaming. Police tried to foil the protest, which apparently infuriated the protesters and eventually all hell broke loose in the otherwise quiet town.
Andhra Home Minister Taneti Vanitha said some 20 police personnel were injured in stone pelting by the mob while the protesters torched a school bus. Eluru Range Deputy Inspector General of Police G Pala Raju, who rushed to Amalapuram, said they were observing restraint and trying to bring the situation under control. He said the injured police personnel were not in danger.
While the ruling party blamed unnamed forces behind the arson, all opposition parties hit out at the Jagan Mohan Reddy government over its "gross failure" in controlling the situation. The opposition parties appealed to people to observe restraint and ensure peace returned to Konaseema. Here are the updates in 10 points:
Trouble started when the police allegedly prevented leaders of the Konaseema Sadhana Samiti from going into the district Collector's office for submitting a memorandum against renaming the district and resorted to a lathicharge. The Samiti was opposed to the proposed renaming of the newly-created Konaseema district as Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district.
As police tried to chase the Samiti leaders and workers away, stone pelting ensued. As trouble broke out, shops in the town downed their shutters even as the protesters allegedly went berserk and first set a school bus on fire.
Protesters later went to the house of Transport Minister Viswarupu and torched it. Sensing trouble, police had by then moved the family members of the ministers out to safety.
Later, the protesters targeted Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Satish's residence and set it on fire. "It was such a horrifying thing when a mob of 1,000-1,500 persons came and burnt our house. They were carrying petrol in bottles, which clearly indicated that they did all this intentionally," Satish said. He and his family members were, however, moved to safety.
Strongly condemning the violence caused due to the protests against changing the name of Konaseema district to Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, state government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said the decision was taken in the wake of demands from various organisations considering the aspirations of the people and added that all the political parties supported it. Speaking to the media at the party central office in Amaravati on Tuesday, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government, said BR Ambedkar was a great leader and the state government doesn't have any political interests in naming a district after him.
State Home Minister Taneti Vanitha has alleged that some parties and anti-social elements instigated the arson. "It is unfortunate that over 20 police personnel sustained injuries in the incident. We will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and bring the culprits to book," she added.
Principal opposition Telugu Desam Party, BJP, Jana Sena and the Congress hit out at the government over its gross failure in controlling the Amalapuram situation. "The arson in Konaseema, known for its peace, is unfortunate. The Home Minister made baseless allegations on a delicate issue. This is completely a failure of the government and the police," Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu said in a statement.
Jana Sena chief K Pawan Kalyan lashed out at the Home Minister for blaming the opposition parties over the Amalapuram incidents. "It is nothing but an effort to cover up the government's failure in maintaining law and order. The ruling party is only seeking to push the blame onto the opposition to cover its failures," Kalyan said.
State BJP president Somu Veerraju strongly condemned the incidents and blamed the government for failing to ensure peace. "The government should take responsibility for its failure to maintain peace in Konaseema," he added.
State Congress president Sake Sailajanath too blamed the government over this.