Andhra Pradesh - Nellore   

Mayor's visit sparks dharna

Staff Reporter

Protests mark Mayor's visit to 44th division; police resort to lathicharge

Nellore: The differences among a section of Congress functionaries in Nellore Municipal Corporation (NMC) came to the fore on Thursday with the police resorting to lathicharge in 44th division of Nellore town resulting in a piquant situation.

The incident occurred when Mayor Pulimi Sailaja accompanied by some corporators went to the area on a routine visit to know about local problems. Interestingly, the division is represented by Syed Sandani Basha, a former vice-chairman of the council, who is opposed to the present leadership in the corporation. He however claims to be sailing with the Congress. Though several attempts have been made to unseat him in the recent civic elections, he won independently, notwithstanding a stiff fight from P. Nageswara Rao, a former trade unionist, who has been expelled from the Communist Party (Marxist).

On Thursday, the Mayor's visit was preceded by several objections by followers of Sandani Basha, who reportedly objected to the presence of certain functionaries accompanying the Mayor, more particularly Mr. Rao. Also they were not happy with twice postponed visit of Ms. Sailaja. As expected the protest by one group was opposed by the other resulting in both staging a dharna.

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Mayor's visit sparks dharna

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