The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress demands prosecution of Naidu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress demands prosecution of Naidu

Special correspondent

Party repeats charge of involvement of top TDP leaders in Penukonda violence

HYDERABAD: The Government Whips -- D. Sridhar Babu and S. Udaya Bhanu -- have demanded action against the TDP president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of planning and instigating violence at Penukonda.

In a statement here on Monday, they said the violence that claimed seven lives was conceived at the TDP headquarters and executed at Penukonda. More shocking was the fact that the former Home Minister, T. Devender Goud, and former Minister for Health, N. Janardhan Reddy, personally supervised it, they said.

This was evident from the fact that contrary to the agreement reached with the officials earlier, the TDP leaders summoned Paritala Ravindra's followers to the RDO office in large numbers, they said.

The incidents as shown on television channels and reported by newspapers "sufficiently proved'' the "complicity" of TD leaders though they were now trying to present "a distorted picture" of the violence. Hurling of bombs and bottles on the police proved beyond any doubt that the violence was pre-planned, they said.

The TDP was petitioning the Election Commission only to cover up its role, they said. Mr. Naidu was resorting to these "gimmicks" to divert people's attention.

They said people of Penukonda were fed up with the factional violence being promoted by the TDP and were craving for peace. The demand for action against efficient police officers betrayed the panic in the TDP camp, they alleged.

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