Members of the Kapu community in Andhra Pradesh, who are demanding BC status and reservation, led by former minister Mudragada Padmanabham, are getting set to clash with the state government, later this month.
Days after Director General of Police (DGP) N Sambasiva Rao said that Mudragada Padmanabham would not get permission for his proposed padayatra on July 26, the Kapu leader held a press conference at his residence in Kirlampudi on Wednesday.
Lashing out at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, he said, "Your lies are done. After your story was over, you dragged Manjunath on the road, and are making him tell lies now. Why has it come to this state? We were assured that the commission report would come within a few months."
He also asked why Justice Manjunath visited them and took their opinions into account, if the state was not interested in meeting their demands.
At the height of the Kapu agitation in February 2016, activists set fire to the Ratnachal Express at Tuni in East Godavari district. Protesters went on the rampage and also damaged a police station, and police and private vehicles.
Following the months-long agitation, the TDP government constituted the Manjunatha Commission to look into the issue.
CM Naidu once again reasserted his promise of reservation for the Kapu community at the party’s recent Mahanadu event.
Angered by the delay in the Commission's report, Kapu leaders are organising a 'Chalo Amaravati' programme from Kirlampudi in East Godavari district to Amaravati, the state's capital.
According to reports, Mudragada Padmanabham would himself lead the padayatra that covers 400 km in four districts -- East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur.
“The walkathon is likely to take 30 days and would be organised on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi's peace march," JAC chairman Vasireddi Yesubabu told TOI.
However, just last week, the state DGP told the media in Vijayawada, "Nobody has applied for police permission for the padayatra so far. During the previous padayatra, many violent incidents took place. Our duty is to maintain law and order, and no permission will be given to Mr. Padmanabham’s padayatra also,”
As far as the earlier violence was concerned, the DGP also told the media that around 250 people involved in the incident were arrested and around 60 cases had been registered.