Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham and his followers continued protesting at Kirlampudi in Andhra's East Godavari district on Saturday, as they were denied permission for their ‘Chalo Amaravati’ padayatra.
Continuing with the practice that has been ongoing for more than a week, Mudragada and his followers stepped out of his residence at 9:30 am, only to be stopped at the gate by the police, who told them that they could not proceed further without prior permission.
In a novel protest, Mudragada and his followers then took out flowers from their pockets and put them in their ears, The Hindu reported.
“The government is citing Supreme Court guidelines to stall the yatra. But when I sought a copy of the guidelines, the government is unwilling to provide the same,” he was quoted as saying.
Demanding that the TDP government fulfil its election manifesto and extend BC status to Kapus, Mudragada, who is also a former state minister, have been protesting for more than a week.
Section 144 and Section 30 have been imposed in the entire area, and Mudragada has been confined to his house since August 3.
The police have made it clear that Mudragada was free to move around for his personal activities, but he had no permission for the padayatra.
Meanwhile, state Home Minister N. Chinarajappa lashed out against the Kapu leader, saying that "he (Mudragada) should not think that he was the only messiah of the community."
The minister was addressing media persons on Saturday, over the issue of the Nandyal bye poll, when he was asked about the padayatra.
Claiming that the state did not mean to curb any community's freedom, the minister said that restriction orders were issued against the padayatra, purely on grounds of law and order.
He also said that the government was waiting for the Manjunatha Commission to submit its report, following which Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu would take a final decision on the reservation of Kapus.
At the height of the Kapu agitation in January 2016, activists set fire to the Ratnachal Express at Tuni in East Godavari district.
Following this, the TDP government had constituted the Manjunatha Commission to look into the issue.
Angered by the delay in the Commission's report, Kapu leaders planned the 400-km padayatra that would cover the districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur, before ending at Amaravati.