The Telugu Desam Party has strongly objected to the restrictions issued by the Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police about the proposed 4,000-km padayatra of its general secretary Nara Lokesh. DGP Rajendranath Reddy, in his letter to politburo member Varla Ramaiah, asked for the number of people participating in the Yuva Galam yatra along with their details including the details of the vehicles, their type and number plate.
Reacting to this, Ramaiah on Sunday, January 22 said, “While doing a padayatra of 4000 kms, how will we know how many we will meet in the villages? How will we know who will participate in his padayatra? How can we give all their details? Is it possible?”
Ramaiah said that lakhs of people were expected to interact with Lokesh during the yatra. “Should I give their name, details and Aadhaar card? Should I even give the voter list?” Ramaiah questioned.
The politburo member said that not even the British imposed such stringent conditions during Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi march. “When Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s father YS Rajasekhara Reddy did a padayatra, but Naidu did not stop him at any level. Adequate security arrangements were made for your father’s padayatra,” Ramaiah said. He added that Jagan was afraid of Lokesh’s padayatra.
The TDP politburo member demanded that the DGP withdraw the restrictions. The TDP was asked to to furnish details such as, “date wise schedule with respect to time, place in each district, detailed route map through the district, number of persons participating in the proposed Padayatra with their details, composition of the entourage with details of the vehicle type, their numbers, number plate and others, places of night halt, district wise local contact number, by either appearing in person in the office of the DGP at 11 am on 22 January 2023 or in writing.”
In the wake of a stampede during a public rally in Nellore by Chandrababu Naidu, which claimed eight lives, the Andhra Pradesh government issued an order banning public rallies and political meetings. But the order was dismissed by the High court and upheld by the Supreme court.
TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh announced the 400-day padayatra in November last. The padayatra is expected to begin on January 27 from Kuppam in Chittoor district – the constituency of his father, former Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu. It will conclude at Ichchapuram in Srikakulam district.